Drabbles - Sakura & Byakuya
by melanintypist67
Summary: Random drabbles that show the relationship between the Blossom of Konoha, and the Sixth Division Captain. Only a couple chapters will be connected. The others are stand alone chapters.
1. I - The First Time And Then Again

**I - The First Time. And Then Again.**

The first time she could remember seeing him, it had just been her and Sasuke.

They were jonin, returning from a mission that had taken place in Iwa. On their return, journeying through the forests, they stopped to make camp, a little ways from a nearby stream. She offered to take first watch, which he agreed to. But she knew the Uchiha man at this point. Even if Naruto and Kakashi all offered to take first watch while he slept, he would remain awake. So, she stood from their perch in the trees. "I'm going to get more water. We're low."

"Be careful," he said, eyes still closed with his sword braced against his shoulder. A habitual comment more meant to reassure that he would be her backup if necessary.

She jumped through the trees, only seconds to the stream. She and Sasuke didn't end up together, like she had hoped, even after he apologized for his actions, even after she made those prosthetics with Tsunade for him and Naruto. In fact, the blonde was the very reason the Uchiha had wanted to return to Konoha. And she had no doubt that the blonde was anxiously awaiting their return now.

Ino had asked how she felt about this development. Sakura assumed she would feel angry, or hurt, or some form of betrayal at this. But she saw how happy her two boys were. And that's all that mattered to her in the long run. So, it was fine with her. She'd gotten over her affection for the brooding male.

And, at this point, she'd made her peace with the fact that she would remain alone too, if that's how the fates decided her path would lead. It was quite possible she would never find love. Most men didn't want a woman who was stronger than them and who could crush mountains with her fingers alone. She'd had a couple of romps with other men in the village, Genma, and even Kiba. But none panned out to anything worthwhile. Currently, she was trying her hand with Kakashi after they both a very vulnerable and very passionate half-drunken night in the Hokage Office. And a couple of other passionate nights in his office.

She reached the stream and quietly filled the canteens. The night was still, with a few crickets singing their songs to one another. The half moon reflected across the ripples and waves as the stream laser over the rocks.

"It is dangerous to be here alone."

Sakura's head whipped around. A tall, pale man stood next to a large yorishiro tree behind her, marked by a tiny shrine at its base. The man work black traditional garments and a white sleeveless jacket over it. His hair was long and black, just falling over his shoulders. A katana was strapped to his left hip. "Oh? And what makes you so sure it's dangerous for me?"

He stared.

"You have a lot of guts to announce your presence." Her hand touched the lunar strapped to her thigh. She hasn't heard him step into the clearing, much less sense his presence. Where was Sasuke? "Are you here to attack me?"

"You can see me?"

She raised a brow. "Of course I can see you."

"I see." He turned his back to her. "Perhaps we will be seeing each other again."

He tilted his head to the side, avoiding two lunar thrown at him. He glanced back to see her glaring, crouched in a fighting stand. "If you think I'm letting you go without a fight so you can ambush me later, you've got another thing coming."

"You misunderstand. I am not your enemy."

"Then what are you?"

"…We shall see." And then he disappeared in a flash. No smoke, no dissipation of his presence. Just an image of a person, gone. Sakura tilted her head back to look at the night sky. Should she tell Sasuke?

"Ne, Sasuke-kun?"

He raised a brow in acknowledgment, eyes still closed.

"Did you sense anything nearby?"

Now his eyes opened, looking vacantly ahead. No doubt he was extending his senses. She wondered if his Rinnegan could sense anything. But he looked up at her in askance.

Sakura rubbed the back of her head, chuckling softly. "I'm sure it was nothing. Probably just my imagination."

"Sakura."

"Honestly, Sasuke. I think I just need to rest my brain for a bit. Mind switching watch?"

He tried to stare her down. But she was too good at ignoring his brooding looks. He gave up when she settled into the tree across the path from him.

\/\/\/

The second time they saw each other, he had come to perform a soul burial on her, two years later, at the same stream where they first met.

He followed the sounds of her screams and sobs. Her soul knelt next to her body, which leaned back against a tree, chin against her chest, and her companion laid in her lap.

"Woman," he called.

Slowly, she lifted her head, tears smudged across her cheeks, neck, and hands. Her emerald orbs seemed lost and broken, widening at his appearance. "You… Why are you here?"

He glanced at the bodies before looking at her again. "Do you understand what has happened to you?"

She looked back down at her lap. "Yes. I just… Sasuke… he…"

He waited.

"I watched… the Gates of Hell… He begged me…"

"Your companion's soul was dark. He was never destined to come where you will be going."

"What do you mean? I… I can't leave yet. I have to…"

He regarded her pleading emerald orbs as she sat on her knees. "What could you so now when you are no longer alive?"

Her sorrowful eyes turned fierce as she regarded him and stood to face him. "You have to help me do one last thing. If you can, then I'll go with you, wherever you want to take me."

"Why should I offer my assistance?"

"You're here for a specific reason." Her hand gripped the chain that was nestled between her breasts. "I wasn't taken to Hell. But this broken chain is here for a reason. I doubt you want to deal with whatever happens to me when it disappears."

She was smarter than she looked, to him. She had only been dead for a matter of hours. And yet, she had deduced certain facts about her afterlife so quickly. "…Very well."

\/\/\/

Naruto sobbed as he hugged the Memorial Stone in the pouring rain. Kakashi rested a hand on his shoulder, squeezing to hide his own tears. Sai stood off to the side, his face a strange mixture of sadness and confusion. Their names had been freshly inscribed on the stone.

They didn't know, hadn't known until it was too late.

The only indication had been of the black and red headbands someone had left with one of the front gate guards. There was also a note, apologizing to both Kakashi and Naruto about not being able to make it back. Kakashi had sent out a squad of ANBU to find their bodies. But a passing tradesman had seen their bodies and knew exactly who they were from the stories. He had loaded their bodies onto his cart, wrapping their bodies in protective cloths, and carted them to the ninja village.

How were they supposed to live with this? Move on from this?

Sakura stood off in the grass with the man standing behind her somewhere. She couldn't feel the rain anymore, couldn't touch her companions. Her attempts to touch their hands or shoulders. Kakashi might have tried to put on a brave front for Naruto. But she had seen him when he hid in his apartment.

Never, in all her years of knowing the grey-haired man, had she ever seen him lose control of his emotions. All she could do was sit next to him, hoping she could will some of her calm and love to him.

"Woman," the man called softly.

"You said I could stay twenty-four hours after the funeral," she said over her shoulder.

"There is no need for you to remain."

She glared at him over her shoulder. "Do you do this to every soul you encounter? Or is it just me?"

He said nothing.

"Wherever you're from, I'm sure you have a family of some sort." She looked back at three of her men. "And I have parents too who are no doubt mourning. But… these three, and the one I lost… they're so important to me. If our positions were reversed, I would hope that they would be able to stand by us in this time."

"Your chain will continue to deteriorate the more time you spend here."

"I know. That's why I asked for twenty-four hours."


	2. II - Separated At the Hip

**II - Separated At the Hip**

"Byakuya-kun," Sakura called, grinning as she ran and hugged the older boy. His father, Sōjun, had invited her and her parents over for dinner at their family Estate. Their mothers had met each other randomly in a cafe and immediately hit it off when they realized their children were in the same primary school. It was Sōjun who invited the family to know who his wife had been so taken with. Six-year-old Sakura was excited because their son was in her class and she had declared him her new best friend, even if he was a year and a half older than her.

He gently touched the top of her head, smiling back. "Hi, Sakura-chan. Toshiro and Naruto are already here. They're waiting in the yard."

"Yay, let's go play with them." She grabbed his hand and dragged him outside. The parents chuckled at her exuberance.

"Kuchiki-sama?"

He looked over at the small, pink-haired child from his spot on the couch. Her little pink brows were furrowed as she looked down at her feet. "Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"Does Byakuya-kun have a wife already?"

The man and the rest of the adults in the living room paused to look at the pout on the child's cheeks. He cleared his throat. "Why do you ask?"

She puffed out reddened cheeks as she gripped the material of her skirt. "Because I told him that I was going to marry him one day. And he said I couldn't because he's going to get a wife. So, does that mean he already has a wife?"

Sōjun laughed before ruffling her wild pink hair. "No, Sakura-chan. He doesn't have a wife yet. If you play your cards right, maybe you'll be his wife."

Her green eyes sparkled. "Really?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "Byakuya can decide who his wife is going to be on his own."

\/\/\/

He was a third year in middle school while she was still a second-year, as he managed to skip a year with his test scores. As the winter holiday neared, it was then she decided that she would ask Byakuya to date her. They'd been friends since elementary school started, sharing secrets and spending weekends together. Sure, they had fallouts, fights, and even vulnerable moments with each other, such as when his mother died of a terminal illness, when his father died of cancer and then his grandfather, who was hard and demanding, moved into the Estate to care for him.

She thought maybe he would accept her. After all, he still didn't have a wife lined up as his clan wanted and wasn't dating anyone. He had never told her of another girl he was interested in. Even Toshiro and Naruto thought that she should ask him because he'd never mentioned anyone to them either. So, if they agreed, then that must have meant that he could have feelings for her, right?

Earlier in the week, one of their classmates, Uchiha Sasuke, had asked her out to the movies. But she had quickly denied him, stating that she was clearly interested in someone else. In retrospect, she felt back for the harsh rejection. But at least it had been after school by the equipment shed where no one was around to hear or see them.

Sakura knew where Byakuya went to eat lunch every Friday, because they shared their lunch every Friday in preparation for the weekend, and ran to meet him. However, she stopped short when she saw him hugging another third-year girl, Nakamura Hisana. Her sister, Nakamura Rukia, was in Sakura's class. Her hands clutched her bento box tightly as she heard his laughter mixing with hers. Byakuya rarely laughed with other people beyond her, Naruto, and Toshiro. Then, they sat down in his usual spot in the shade of the bleachers. Not only did Hisana sit in her designated spot to his right, but he also opened his own bento box and offered her some of his food.

But... he usually shared his lunch with her.

Uchiha Sasuke looked up from his spot at one of the picnic tables, lowering his book. Haruno Sakura sat across from him, her bento box unopened. "I'm sorry... for the way I treated you last time," she said softly.

"I'm not asking you out again."

She heaved a sighed. "I know. I just... I actually considered how you felt. And I'm sorry."

He raised a brow. "He rejected you, didn't he?"

She glanced over to where he assumed her crush was, but he didn't look.

"He doesn't even know that he rejected me."

At the end of the day, Byakuya waited for her by the bike racks. Usually, she would ride on the back of his back with her legs off to one side, her arms wrapped around his waist, and her cheek nestled between his shoulder blades. This weekend, one of his aunts from a branch family was taking them to Suna for sightseeing and a specialty spa.

He gave her a soft smile as she approached. "Ready?"

She looked down at their feet while gripping the handles of her bag on her shoulder. "Actually... I think I should just head home. I don't feel very well."

He frowned and touched a hand to her forehead. "You don't feel warm. Is that why I didn't see you during lunch? Did you go to the nurse's office?"

Sakura stepped back. "No, I didn't. But I think it would be better if I just went home and rested. I don't want to be a downer on the trip."

Byakuya swung a leg over his bike. "Get on. I'm taking you home."

"I can just take the-" "Get on, Sakura."

Slowly, she climbed on, getting into her usual position, and then he took off. She would make him leave when they got to her house. She didn't want him to stay while she tried to figure out her feelings and if the new development would affect their dynamic.

\/\/\/

Byakuya was confused. Sakura wouldn't come with him to the bar to celebrate his bachelor's party. She offered no excuse other than she just couldn't, which was out of the ordinary. She had never turned down hanging out with him in all the years they'd known each other. She was always by his side – playing games growing up, crying with him when his parents died, and later on when his grandfather died, when he was nervous about his college entrance exams, when he had fallouts with Hisana, and even when he worked up the courage to eventually ask her to marry him.

How could she not want to be with him now?

But, honestly, he had noticed her mood becoming more and more sour as they got closer to his wedding date. Hisana, and Rukia, separately had even asked her multiple times to come with her to do bridal stuff and Sakura, politely, refused every time with convenient excuses. When he called her out on her actions, she just dipped her head and softly apologized.

He couldn't stand this. What changed? She hadn't told him about anything changing, much less what she happening in general in her life. Was it her job at the hospital? Did something happen with her family?

Byakuya finished his second drink with Naruto and Toshiro before standing and telling them he was going to look for Sakura.

"I wouldn't, if I were you," Toshiro said.

Byakuya paused halfway off his barstool and looked at his white-haired friend.

"If Sakura is really your best friend like you claim, you'll leave her alone."

"She's been upset."

"No shit," Naruto said, giving him a sideways glare. This was new. What did they know about Sakura that he didn't? "Think about why. When did you notice her getting angry, Byak?"

"Okay, okay, hold your horses. I'm coming."

The door opened and she stood before him in a mid-drift blue t-shirt and black shorts, rubbing her eyes. She hummed softly, sleepily. "Byakuya? What are you doing here? I thought you were with Naruto and Shiro."

He merely pushed past her into her apartment. "I needed to talk with you."

"Hey, you can't just come in like that." But when she saw he just plopped himself on her couch, she slammed the door closed. At least Orihime wasn't in the apartment. She locked the door and sat next to him. "So, what's up? Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now."

Byakuya knew she was teasing, but he couldn't dare to laugh with her now. If what Toshiro and Naruto were implying back at the bar was true... "Sakura, why didn't you come out with us tonight?"

She frowned and propped her cheek on her fist. "I told you I just didn't want to come out."

"That's not good enough."

"How is that not good enough?"

"There's another reason."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"I wouldn't know since you've been pushing me away."

She didn't say anything. And she didn't deny his claim.

He turned on the couch to look at her, slate grey staring into emerald green.

But her eyes dropped to her lap. "Isn't it obvious?"

"We wouldn't be having this conversation."

She gritted her teeth and looked up at him, brows deeply furrowed. "Do you remember when we were children and I came over for dinner for the first time? Do you remember what I proclaimed?"

His eyes slowly widened. "We were just children."

She scoffed and stood. "You're so dumb, Byakuya, for someone so smart. I had meant it, even as a kid. I meant when we entered middle school together. I meant it after I stayed at your house for two weeks after your father passed. The day you asked Hisana to be your girlfriend, I was coming to ask you. And I saw you two."

"Sakura..."

She hugged her arms, giving him her back. "Even now, I'm still in love you. It's not that I hate Hisana; I think she'd a wonderful person and a wonderful woman for you. It's just... the realization that I wasn't cut out to be enough for you."

"I'm sorry," he said at length. "If I had known..."

"Don't," she said firmly, moving her fists to her sides. "Don't give me hypotheticals out of pity. It's too late. You're going to marry her and have a family. And I'll... I'll just move on with my life. So, just go back to the bar. Go back and then get married tomorrow. And leave me alone."

Suddenly, he was standing and kissing her, cupping her face. She tried pushing against his chest, but she was too weak to fight him. His tongue plundered her mouth, twining their tongues together as he cupped the back of her head. Her fingers twisted in the material of his shirt while she whimpered.

He pulled away suddenly, both panting. Her eyes watered and she looked away. "Please leave."

But neither moved.

"I said get out." She tried to hit him, but he caught her wrist. They stared at each other until her body finally gave in. He kissed her again before scooping her up and carrying her to her bedroom. That night, he whispered words of adoration into her ear while she writhed and moaned beneath him. For the night, she could believe his sentiments to be heartfelt and true.

The next day, he didn't see Sakura at the wedding.


	3. III - Reunion

**III - Reunion**

Byakuya couldn't remember what time it was, much less how long he'd been curled up in the corner. He'd gotten the blackout curtains for her while she received treatment because the sunlight in the bedroom had been too much for her. And now, they served to keep him hidden, from everyone and everything.

His body demanded that he take care of it, that he eat or drink something. He should move or stretch. Or simply just fucking move.

But how could he? Did he even deserve it? What was his purpose in life now that she was no longer in it anymore?

\/\/\/

She had been laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The bedroom as lit only by the few street lights that lined the neighborhood and town below. Sleep wouldn't come to her. It was now four o'clock in the morning and she'd tried drinking warm milk, sleeping pills, and even reading boring newspaper articles to will sleep upon her.

But to no avail.

It's not like there were any city noises that kept her awake. Naha, Okinawa was markedly different from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, even on its outskirts. Her tried to meditate, to quiet her mind. But it wasn't like her mind had been racing with thoughts. No concerns, worries, or even thoughts about some upcoming appointments at the hospital.

Sakura sat up slowly in bed, looking out her balcony window as she pulled her knees to her chest. Sometimes she wondered where she would be, what she would be doing if she'd stayed in Tokyo. Would she be dating someone? Would she have become closer friends with Ino, Hinata, and Rangiku? Would they do girl things and spend Friday and, or, Saturday nights at the bar lamenting about their lives?

Would she be talking to Byakuya?

She'd never told Naruto or Toshiro about what happened that night, other than the fact that Byakuya had visited her and he knew about her feelings. They asked her and even begged to know why she was leaving for Okinawa. She didn't know anyone on the smaller island and had no family there either. Even Mebuki and Kizashi wanted to know why their only daughter was 'running away from them.' Sakura couldn't even remember what bullshit excuse she had given them.

They'd generally accepted her excuse.

But Naruto didn't. And, while the blonde was clueless on most things, he also knew that Byakuya was the only person who could force answers out of her and talk sense into her. Toshiro told her, the day before she was supposed to fly out, that Naruto tried to get Byakuya to come see her. But the proud Kuchiki man had refused, even slamming the door in Naruto's face and ignoring his subsequent attempts to get his attention.

Toshiro saw it for what it was - something more than a simple disagreement had happened that night before his wedding, something more than just a confession. She didn't tell her white-haired friend; Toshiro actually liked Hisana as a friend and a person, and would see their actions as a betrayal. Not only that, he would insist that the _right_ and _moral_ thing to do would be to tell her.

Sakura may have been hurt over her one-sided feelings and the way that night had turned out, but even she wasn't so high-handed and self-serving that she would tarnish the start of their marriage like that.

Well, she already had. But, as far as they were concerned, such a night never occurred.

She'd even attempted to delete all of her text messages on her phone with Byakuya. But she certainly didn't even have the guts to do it. In the first couple of months after she moved, she'd read through some of the messages, remembering their inside jokes and the events that happened before and after. Some of their texts had been during boring dinners they shared with other members of his clan, sniggering and giggling at their messages and meaningful looks across the table.

Those were certainly some of the moments she missed.

Rukia had reached out to her once, about two months ago. Sakura hadn't answered. Not because she didn't want to. But because she hadn't been physically able to. Her hands refused to pick up her ringing device, sitting through two rounds of calls before it fell silent. Even then, she waited almost five more minutes, afraid it would ring in her palms and she'd answer.

The voicemail Rukia left asked that Sakura visit Byakuya and Hisana; that perhaps she could be an additional support for them. There wasn't much in the way of explanation; she didn't want to explain over voicemail and left her number for Sakura to call her back.

But she never did. Out of lack of interest, stubbornness, or fear, Sakura wasn't sure.

Her phone began to rhythmically vibrate on her nightstand. Her emerald eyes widened at the name flashing on the screen. The very name she hadn't seen on her screen in two years. She thought, like with Rukia, she would have been unable to answer the phone. But, it was in her hand suddenly, the screen glowing on her face.

"Hello?" she said softly.

Silence.

"H… Hello?"

A sigh and then an inhale.

"Byakuya-kun?"

An exhale. "Sakura… something happened…"

\/\/\/

She had flown from Okinawa to Tokyo within an hour of him calling her. He didn't know who else to call. He could have called Toshiro, or Naruto, who knew more of what had happened than she did. But when he picked up the phone, he instinctively dialed her phone number, which she had kept the same since high school. He had always called her when things went to hell in a hand basket for him, before he'd gotten married. Admittedly, he had begun sobbing and it took some tries before she understood what he was trying to tell her.

"She died, Sakura. She's fucking gone. What do I do? It's my fault. It's all my fault."

"Okay, try and keep calm, Byakuya. I'm… I'm on my way, okay?" She immediately grabbed a small suitcase and threw clothes and shoes into it. "I'm getting on the next flight from Okinawa. Send a driver for me at Tokyo International. Keep calm. You didn't do anything."

"Okinawa?" he questioned in a whisper. "There's… I have a…"

She tried to wait him out. But he seemed stuck. "Do you have a jet in Okinawa?"

"Yes," he breathed. He gave her the pilot's number to call him and tell him it was an emergency flight. And she did just that.

Sakura had come, just like she promised. As soon as she had gotten to his Estate, she found him sitting in the master bathroom in his sweats and a t-shirt under the spray of the shower. He didn't look up at her as she entered the bathroom, nor when she gingerly opened the glass door and sat next to him in her own clothes. She didn't say anything, just laid her head on his shoulder.

And that was it.

He turned and hugged her around the waist, his face in her neck as he sobbed. Her hold was gentle but supportive, her fingers tangling against his scalp. He didn't need words from her that only gave pitying sympathies. He needed her stability; he needed her support, like she'd always given.

Now, she had been with him for two months.

She had quit her job at a hospital she worked at in Okinawa to stay with him and help him through this mourning process. It was the same basic song and dance they had done before when his parents and grandfather died before. But it was different now; it was a different type of loss. And it seemed like this was bordering on one loss too many for the once immovable man.

She helped get the body taken from the Estate, and organized the funeral and cremation. Naruto and Toshiro stood next to him while she held his hand during the ceremony. Every night, she slept next to him in the bed in the guest room. On the nights he couldn't sleep, she would stay up with him, leaning against his side, the quiet settled between them. A couple times, he would wake her by rolling over and petting between her legs. Once he knew she was fully awake, he pushed her underwear aside or tore it off to fuck her. He wanted it to mean more, but he couldn't stop crying, begging, even as she kissed his face and neck, whispering tender words of comfort.

His company was currently in the hands of his very capable vice president, Abarai Renji, until Byakuya felt that he was able to return to the full functionality of his position.

Sakura tried to get him to do activities after a while, doing a couple things for work here and there, playing a few card games, and even chess, though she thoroughly sucked at the game. She took him out on picnics in the nearby parks and forced him to endure visits from their friends. The first crack of any actual smile came when they were having dinner with some of the extended Kuchiki Clan. Like their past selves, they sat across from each other at the table, eating and generally remaining disengaged to the conversation around them. She tuned in to a random conversation between two of his uncles, one of them complaining about lack of engagement from his students in a class he taught at Tokyo University.

She texted him that she wondered if anyone ever really paid him any mind in anything he did. It took Byakuya a couple minutes to notice that she had sent him a message. He read it under the table and a smirk final surfaced. He responded that, unless someone was desperate to lose quality brain cells, they should have stayed away.

Still, Byakuya felt like a walking zombie moving through most of his days, adjusting to this new version of life without his wife. However, he had noticed how Sakura would come to pay respects to Hisana with him everyday, even if it meant multiple times a day. So, he commented on it one day.

"I had nothing against Hisana," she responded after ending her prayer. "I thought she was an amazing woman and I actually admired her. I let my jealousy and selfishness get in the way of building a friendship with her."

She looked up at him with shimmering emerald orbs. When was the last time he'd actually looked into her eyes like this? Had he ever? Something inside him clenched at the realization that he'd never truly taken her in like this.

"I shouldn't have run away like I did after you got married. I'm sorry for not at least staying in contact like I could have."

"I should be the one to apologize. And I do apologize" he said softly. "I should have respected your feelings that night. It was wrong of me to spend the night with you."

"… Do you regret it?"

He took a moment to answer, considering the shrine before them and then slowly closing it. "No. But I regret how I handled your feelings and for forcing mine onto you, despite the fact that I was getting married."

"What do you mean?"

He looked at her as they left the shrine room. Outside the door, he told her, "That night, the things I said… I meant all of it."

Her eyes widened. "Byakuya…"

"I did love you, Sakura. I'd always loved you. I… I didn't ask you, back in middle school, but Sasuke… he said he was going to ask you out. I didn't know you'd still wanted to be my wife." He looked at their feet. "You and I had been friends all of our lives; I felt… selfish in wanting you and thought maybe you deserved to find another, someone on your own."

She smiled softly and hugged him. "Honestly, Byakuya, you're so stupid for someone so smart."

That night, they sat next to each other, curled up together on the couch in front of a movie. She didn't expect him to suddenly show her love, especially not anything similar to what he had for Hisana. But being able to be next to him again, be his rock and support again, was all that mattered to her.


	4. IV - On-and-Off Again

A/N: This chapter does not have anything to do with chapters 2 and 3. I realized that there were similar story elements going on here. But this is a different story.

* * *

 **IV - On-And-Off Again**

An alarm sounded across the platform while she stood waiting for the next subway train to come. According to the sign above her head, it was just delayed at the previous station and had been for fifteen minutes now. Not that she could tell if this was true or not. If she leaned forward and looked down the tunnel, it was essentially a straight shot to the previous station. Yet, she couldn't even see tiny pinpricks of lights in the otherwise barely lit tunnel. There was no explanation for the delay and only apologies for the inconvenience this caused passengers.

Byakuya had been texting her, asking where she was and if she was actually coming to join him for dinner.

What reason would she have for not coming?

As much as she knew the man was oblivious to her feelings, he was still one of her best friends. They had practically grown up together. He should have known by now that if she wasn't coming, she would have just said so.

Or at least created some bullshit excuse, believable or not.

And that stupid alarm was still going off. Wasn't there someone coming to fix it? She had seen the metro workers standing behind the counters and strolling through the station on the platforms above. But she supposed it wasn't much of an emergency. Only two other people stood on the platform and neither seemed bothered by the noise. One was a homeless man who seemed to have fallen asleep, slumped over against the wall towards the tail end of the platform. The other was some possible pre-teen in some outrageous gothic Lolita dress with platform combat boots and listening to music with her wireless headphones. She bobbed her head slowly and rhythmically, her lips painted deep red and smokey shadow around her eyes.

Some of Sakura's pink hair fell in her face and she tucked it back into her messy bun. It was her day off from working at the hospital as a pediatric surgeon. If any of her patients - or co-workers for that matter - saw her in her casual attire, they would have never guessed she was capable of performing surgery on children. Her outfit consisted of black leggings, black tank top, a red and black plaid shirt that had once belonged to Byakuya, and black booties with gold-plated tips. She had done her makeup simply - some mascara, eyeliner, and a light coating of tinted gloss on her lips.

Byakuya sent her another text asking her if it was okay if Hisana joined them for dinner. She wanted to roll her eyes, but found she just didn't have the energy to do so. She was so sick and tired of Hisana. Byakuya and that woman had an on-again, off-again relationship. Neither treated each other very well and, within two weeks of them breaking up, one was always begging for forgiveness. It annoyed Sakura to no end that he couldn't see how poisonous the relationship was for him.

A man, dressed in a typical black and white white business suit came sliding down the stairs. It was only eight in the evening. Did people usually get so drunk this early in the night? She sent Byakuya a text back that it was fine, but she'd be uncomfortable through the whole meal. She didn't feel like mentioning he'd done it to her before and knew how it would end. The two would apologize and forgive each other. Then, they'd start making sex eyes at each other. And, by the end of the meal, she'd have to leave as they dashed off to his bedroom for make-up sex.

Okay. Maybe 'making sex eyes' was a bit of an exaggeration. But the rest was definitely true.

Being with Hisana had changed him. They'd argued over this too, she and Byakuya. Sakura had said he changed. He accused her of being selfish and stuck up. They'd given each other the silent treatment for about two hours before they both apologized for the things they said. At least that had only been one argument.

But, she still maintained that he had changed because of Hisana. The boy and man she knew before that woman came into the picture was different from the man who stood before her.

He usually didn't respond negatively or positively to that, if he responded at all.

The man coming down the stairs fell into a heap on the ground, his blonde hair a greasy mess around his face. He was thick and European-looking. A small part of her wanted to help him. But Byakuya, Naruto, and Sasuke had all warned her of the dangers of men. They even made her enroll in a self-defense class or three, which she managed to pass with flying colors.

He groaned but remained in a heap on the floor, hands searching and randomly patting his body. Finally, he slapped his hands on the ground and attempted to push himself up, his developing beer belly preventing him from quick movement. Well, she supposed she'd just leave him there. Even the Lolita girl had spared him a look but didn't do anything. What was that called? The bystander effect? She though maybe both she and the Lolita thought the other would give some assistance. But she preferred being safe than molested.

But Sakura kept glancing at him. Should she actually help him?

Byakuya texted again. He didn't understand why she'd be uncomfortable. It was just Hisana. She knew the woman long enough.

Why didn't men get it? Knowing her for a long time, by association at that, didn't mean that Sakura automatically liked her. If humans actually followed that logic, she'd be friends with everyone she fucking met. But, then again, if he could see his relationship from the outside in, or even realize her feelings, maybe he would get it.

After graduating from college, on graduation night, she and Byakuya had spent the evening together at his Estate, without Hisana. Naruto and Sasuke had been invited over, since they had graduated too, but hid out in a spare bedroom somewhere. They plowed through bottle after bottle of alcohol between the four of them before she and Byakuya sat on the couch, sipping beers. They ended up making out with her straddling him. The intent had clearly been to have sex. They'd gotten her shirt and his pants off. But somewhere along the way, they fell asleep on each other. When they woke the next morning in a tangled heap on the floor, they quietly agreed to never speak about it again.

It happened mainly because he'd been broken up with Hisana at that point and she'd been consoling him.

And, granted, she had been dating Uchiha Itachi since sophomore year of college up until a year ago. But that didn't mean that her feelings for Byakuya had necessarily changed. They'd just taken a back burner to her feelings for Itachi. Sasuke's older brother had been one of the best men she dated and regretted that her job didn't allow her to travel with him across the globe.

After their breakup, she spent almost an entire week meditating on and analyzing her feelings. The confliction wasn't because she and Byakuya had known each other for so long. She really honestly had feelings for him.

Sakura furiously texted him back that maybe she would just head back home. The train was still delayed and…

And what?

Her hands shook as she typed that she didn't want to witness them falling love again and then have to leave when they decided to have make-up sex. She shoved her phone in her purse and clutched it shut. Maybe she should just go home. And turn off her phone. He wasn't expecting that response from her and she wasn't sure she was ready for whatever response he would give.

The man finally managed to pull himself up, body hunched over while he groaned in pain. She wondered briefly if the man would be able to even get himself home.

But wasted people always managed to get home. Somehow.

She moved to the stairs to head back up but heard the sounds of an approaching train. The Lolita finally noticed the inebriated man slowly staggering towards her and edged away from him. Sakura could see the nervous look on her face as he got closer. Hell, even Sakura was getting nervous for her.

The train zoomed by, whipping her stray hairs in her eyes. On instinct, she lunged forward and yanked the girl back as the man reached for her, flopping to the ground again. Almost immediately he vomited to the side, retching loudly. The train doors opened and both females jumped on, pushing passed the people who got off. Sakura watched the man as someone came to his side and helped him to his feet. That was the last she saw before they entered the tunnel.

\/\/\/

At the station, Sakura didn't see the Lolita get off the train, even though her stop was five express stops. As soon as seats became available, they moved away. She had only nodded her thanks to Sakura, not that she was looking for anything more really in the way of appreciation.

Maybe she'd already gotten off. As she moved through the crowds and exited the station, a man suddenly grabbed her wrist and dragged her quicker up the stairs.

"Hey, let me go. Let- Byakuya?"

"Come," he commanded, striding towards his idling luxury car parked at the curb.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was planning to get you from home." He opened the passenger door. "We need to talk. Get in."

"Look, I don't know that–" "Get in," he said, his voice holding a deadly edge to it.

She did as he said, uncomfortable with the sudden difference in her best friend. But it wasn't like she hadn't seen this version of him before. He strode around the front of the car to climb in the driver's seat. He didn't buckle his seatbelt before pulling into traffic; he did it after while accelerating between cars. Byakuya wasn't reckless driver. But he certain liked speed. Sakura subtly clung to her seat and the passenger door

"So… what do we need to talk about that is so urgent?" she said after a couple minutes. Usually, she would spend this time listening to her music on the bus on the way to his apartment complex.

"You did not respond to my text."

"What? Oh." She pulled her phone out of her bag. "There was a situation at the station."

He glanced at her, hands tightening on the wheel.

"It wasn't that big of a deal, Byakuya. There was this drunk man and he almost attacked this girl. I couldn't just stand by and not help."

"You can't help everyone. Think about your own safety."

She just rolled her eyes; it was another argument they - and Sasuke and Naruto, if they were around - had had often enough. She looked at his message. He had asked what she meant having to witness it again. "You know exactly what I mean," she whispered.

"Elaborate then."

She looked out the window. "You always do this. The two of your break up for two days or a week or whatever. Then, you want to hang out with me, or have dinner, or something else because I've always been your rock, right? But then you always end up inviting her along. You two make up, and then I'm left as the awkward third fucking wheel because it couldn't just be you and me hanging out. And, to top it off, my time with you gets cut short because you two want to have make-up sex, fawning all over each other. That's what I fucking meant, Byakuya. And you know."

Sakura let the silence sit, crossing her arms.

"Like tonight, for instance," she added, whipping her head back around to him. Her hair finally fell out of the bun, but she just pushed her hair away. "I thought it would just be you and me. For once. And, I have no idea why I thought that would be the case. Because, of course, you invited her at the last second."

Byakuya didn't respond immediately and she refrained from detailing every other instance that this happened. Prattling on in frustration - and jealousy, to be honest - wasn't going to make this any better. When he finally did say something, he asked softly, "Do I truly do this to you that often?"

They came to a stop light and he looked over at her, his slate grey orbs boring into hers. Byakuya was not a man who lowered his walls often, if it all. There were only a few people who he showed his true self to. Beyond his parents and grandfather, she was one of the first people who really saw him, and then Naruto. Sasuke was too similar to him for either to do such a thing. "Yes," she whispered back. Then, swallowing thickly, she added, "And, as your friend, it hurts every single time."

He looked back at the road, pressing the gas. They passed through a couple of intersections in that strained silence before he reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing gently. "Forgive me, Sakura. I had not realized, especially how much it hurt you."

Her eyes widened at was presented before her. Kuchiki Byakuya, her long-time best friend and the man of her fantasies, was holding her hand. Not just that but… Her cheeks warmed as she took note of his knuckles pressing against her thighs. Even when they were younger, he never held her hand like this; he always said it was only for couples to do so. "B… Byakuya…"

He squeezed her hand and returned his to the steering wheel. "I promise this is the last time anything like this will happen. Just give me a chance."

"...Okay." She relaxed back into her seat, hands folded in her lap.

"I'm going to call Hisana and tell her not to come."

"She'll be angry," Sakura said blandly, her mood slightly soured by the mention of her name.

He only hummed in acknowledgment and reached over to dial Hisana's number. Sakura tried to tune out his conversation with her, not wanting to intrude. She may have been jealous, but she wasn't invasive. No doubt Hisana was demanding to know what the two of them were doing. She always did. Watanabe Hisana could not stand the thought of Byakuya having a female best friend whom he hung out with regularly, especially when she wasn't around or invited along.

They arrived at his apartment, parking the car in the underground parking garage. He led her upstairs in the elevator, listening to her talk about the patients she had seen throughout the week. Sakura was a pediatric surgeon, one of the youngest in all of Japan to get her medical license. Of course, most of the patients who came to see her were sick. But it was her stories of her patients who were recovering that made him tune in because of the way her eyes lit up and the immense care behind every word.

Her parents had barely been able to afford the medical school bills. But she connected with a mentor, Tsunade, who saw something in the pink-haired woman and offered her a sizeable scholarship as long as Sakura pushed herself past her limits and strove to do better.

It made Byakuya proud that she had been able to make something of her career, that she found fulfillment out of it.

In his apartment, they settled in on his couch, talking more about her week and then his, which consisted mostly of boring meetings and endless phone calls. But Sakura listened to him anyway and asked for more details when necessary. Eventually, her stomach protested her askance of more conversation from him and he only smirked as she blushed.

They ordered food from the nearest Chinese restaurant. They split a large dish of pork fried rice, friend shrimp, and lo mein. She had begged him to order dessert. But he showed her that he had a carton of their favorite ice cream in his freezer - caramel latte. They had discovered a pretty obscure brand of ice cream that sold atypical ice cream flavors. The caramel latte was sweet enough for her but also not as sweet as Byakuya expected when Sakura forced him to try it.

While they ate dinner, they watched old kung-fu movies, laughing at the bad voice overs and even reenacting a fight scene from one of the movies, though her flying kick was no nearly as long or as epic as the movie. They laid on the floor, laughing at their poor fighting skills before Sakura finally got up and grabbed the ice cream from the freezer and two spoons. They sat on the floor between the couch and the coffee table, pulling blankets around their shoulders. While this evening was nothing unusual, Sakura was hyper-aware of the fact that their thighs touched, even though they were shielded by the blankets, their knees balancing thier melting treat.

Byakuya had turned on another kung-fu the movie, intensely watching though they had watched this particular movie almost a million times. She was sure of it.

"Ne, Byakuya?"

He took a second, barely able to tear his eyes away from the screen before looking at her.

She offered a small smile. "I miss spending time with you like this. Just the two of us. This is what I missed."

Sakura expected him to just hum in acceptance and turned back to his movie. But, instead he frowned, a crease forming in his forehead.

"Why do you dislike Hisana so much?"

She reached a hand up, fingertips gently massaging to smooth out the creases. "Don't frown like that. I can't have you aging prematurely on me."

He took a hold of her wrist, gentle, and lowered it. "Sakura."

"Do we really need to hash out this argument again?"

"Yes."

She gave him a baleful look before sighing. "I feel like you've changed since you started dating her. And I'm not the only who thinks that, you know. Naruto and Sasuke feel the same way."

"They don't avoid being in her presence."

She looked away, not liking where this conversation was setting up to take her. She would have to choose her words wisely, lest she end up spilling her guts. He may have sacrificed some of his hearing to spend the night hanging with her. But that didn't mean she was numero uno anymore still. "Well, maybe it's me feeling abandoned because now you have someone else, someone more important, to give your attention to. Or, maybe it's because I felt that she never liked me. So, why should I like her back?"

"She likes you," he said reflexively, immediately regretting it from the look Sakura gave him.

She wrestled her wrist free. "Have you actually listened to the things she says to me? Even Itachi noticed. I feel like she's belittling me and makes me out to be some girl playing doctor."

"Did she say that?"

"No, I just… Byakuya, I'm tired of being the third wheel, especially when it's supposed to just be you and me. I hate that you both have broken up so often and gotten back together just as much. And for what? To do it all over again the next week? Doesn't this routine get tiring?"

"Sakura…"

"I just…" She reached over to squeeze his hand, closing her eyes. "I just want you to be happy, Byakuya. You deserve to be because you've worked so hard in your life. Nobody, especially you, should be forced to have to constantly validate himself to his romantic partner, much less anyone else."

Her eyes popped open when he lifted their hands and kissed the back of hers, staring into her eyes. "Thank you, Sakura. I'll keep that in mind."

\/\/\/

They had fallen asleep on the couch, curled up side by side on the couch. Their takeout boxes had dried and crusted with their leftover food. What remained of their caramel latte ice cream had melted, the spoons sitting in the now-warm treat. The TV had powered itself off when they failed to make another movie selection.

And Sakura cleaned everything up as quietly and efficiently as possible, setting the utensils in the dishwasher and turning it on silent mode. She threw out the carton and takeout boxes and carried the garbage to the trash chute in the hallway. Byakuya snoozed softly on the couch and she cover the rest of him with her blanket, barely pressing her lips to his cheek and leaving her note on the seat next to him.

There was no real or solid reason for why she felt the need to run out of the apartment like she had overslept at a one-night stand. The night could not have been anymore ideal. Sakura felt like the two of them had fallen back into their old ways without having to worry about his girlfriend or her (now ex-) boyfriend constantly reading into their every action. And, they also seemed to have reached an understanding between them regarding her feelings about his relationship.

Though, it dawned on her, as she climbed into a taxi, that it was that understanding that had unnerved her. Byakuya and Hisana had been dating for three years now. In all that time, Byakuya had always argued that he wasn't changing and that she was just imagining things. She didn't know what caused her stoic friend to suddenly become more understanding to her feelings.

What she did know was that seven in the morning was not the time to try and ponder those things.

* * *

 _Ohayo, Byakuya :3_

 _I remembered that I have some important errands to run today, including visiting Tsunade for some of her medical texts. I've procrastinated long enough and really should get them done today._

 _Thank you again for last night. I had fun. Schedules permitting, we should make this a monthly thing - just you and me watching bad kung-fu movies over dinner and ice cream. Text me later!_

 _Sakura_


	5. V - Revelations

**V - Revelations**

In the following weeks and months, Sakura had more meals with Byakuya than she had in the past four years. And it wasn't just the meals. Most of the time, they met at a restaurant and shared a meal, laughing and chatting. A couple times, he met her at the hospital and brought lunch to share in her office. Though, he caused quite a ruckus every time he came as he was _the_ Kuchiki Byakuya, the very same man who owned and operated Seireitei Inc. The other nurses and doctors, though mostly Ino, started asking her if they were dating, or if she was his secret lover.

Which was completely absurd. She reminded them that he had a girlfriend. But all recent photos of them had shown them not together and the media was speculating that they weren't together anymore.

Which was just as equally absurd. If they weren't together, Byakuya would have told her.

Well, to be honest, he never indicated that they had gotten back together after their initial heart to heart two months ago. Had it really been that long? Almost two whole months? Not even Naruto or Sasuke were sure whether Byakuya and Hisana had gotten back together since he never seemed to want to talk about it. Even her own investigative questions went unanswered and ignored when she asked him.

When both had time off, she would drag him shopping with her at the mall, trying on outfits for him to evaluate - because he was always honest about whether he liked her clothes or not - and then making him try and model clothes for her. He hated trying on clothes. But she knew he did for her because she also hated trying on clothes. Of course, when the mall became too hectic from his admirers following them and demanding pictures, they left and wandered through the street markets, sharing taiyaki and bubble tea.

They had also resumed their monthly hangouts on Friday nights into Saturday mornings. Another reason why she kept trying to ask about Hisana. No matter where she was - at work, at home, or riding the train - he would pick her up. The gesture didn't bother her. It was the fact that she couldn't image Hisana had nothing to say about this. As far as Sakura was concerned, Friday nights and weekends were usually the times that most couples anticipated. It was time off from work, you could hide away from the world, and do whatever you wanted on those days. So, she had asked, by month three since that night, what Hisana thought about them hanging out.

"I am an adult, Sakura," he said blandly when he picked her up from work. She honestly wished he hadn't because her colleagues all stood by the doors and windows, watching her and no doubt creating more gossip that she would have to endure on Sunday when she went in to perform an operation.

"And?"

"I can spend my time with whomever I wish."

"Bya-kun, I may not necessarily like your girlfriend all that much. But I have two eyes and a brain. Hisana has never not had something to say about us hanging out."

"She's in Hong Kong right now, spending the next couple of days with a family friend."

Sakura raised a brow. "How convenient."

He looked at her. "Do you not wish to hang out?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't do that."

And that's where that conversation had ended.

By the fourth month, in May, things had gotten a little out of hand. Photos started circulating of her and Byakuya together, juxtaposed with him and Hisana, questioning if Byakuya was cheating on Hisana with his best friend. Sakura had noticed the paparazzi hounding him more and had even noticed a few of them lingering around the hospital, until Tsunade chased them away. Still, it didn't sit well with her. And Byakuya wasn't happy about it either since he wasn't comfortable with the idea of them harassing her for information. He offered to hire and bodyguard for her. But she refused. To accept the offer and then people find out might mean to them that the rumors were true.

And they weren't.

While Byakuya still wouldn't definitively say whether he was officially back with Hisana or not, they had been spotted out together, holding hands and sharing meals.

Did it make Sakura's chest clench every time her news feed on social media, or the suggested pop culture articles, showed them together? Maybe. Maybe not. She was trying to be less introspective about the whole thing.

"How's Itachi doing?"

Sasuke just hummed, poking at his salad with his fork.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"He's fine," he gruffed, frowning with his brows furrowed. "I haven't talked to him since last week."

She blinked at him. "Okay. Sorry, I asked."

He suddenly slammed his fork down and folded his hands in front of his mouth, dark brown eyes boring into her. "Why did you break up with him?"

Her eyes were wide, she was sure, and she looked around the room, though she wasn't sure what she was expecting. "Um, because of my job at the hospital. His job is going to have him traveling and spending extended periods across Europe. That wouldn't be healthy for our relationship."

He raised a brow. "Is that really it?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Are you sure it wasn't because you're still in love with Byakuya?"

"Now hold on a second-"

"I've seen the pictures and articles, Sakura. And so has Itachi."

Ah, now it made sense. "Is that what you think of me?" She looked down at her own salad. "Is that what Itachi thinks of me?"

He just grunted softly.

She closed her eyes, squeezing her fork. "I won't lie and say that I got over my crush for Byakuya while I was dating Itachi. But I know, without a doubt, that I loved your brother. Our relationship was real; our feelings were real. My decision to stay here had nothing to do with Byakuya and everything to do with my job and my life. How could I possibly live anywhere in Europe and not know the language? Itachi studied English and French. And he was learning fucking German when he left? I only know Japanese and little bits of Chinese, Sasuke."

"And those articles?"

"You're going to believe some fucking gossip and pop culture magazines over my word?"

He watched her for a couple seconds before sighing. "Itachi was hurt when he saw the pictures. He didn't want to believe them, but he knew about your feelings."

"I know he knew. That doesn't mean I didn't value our relationship and love him for whom he was. You can tell him that since he didn't even the balls to talk to me himself and used his little brother to bombard me."

Naruto wasn't surprised by this conversation when she brought it up to him later in the week when he came by her house with dinner. "Teme is protective of Itachi. He could barely stand that you two dated."

"What do you mean?"

"He didn't think you really liked Itachi." He slurped his noodles. "Come on, Sakura-chan. We both knew about your feelings for Byakuya in college. We were afraid you were going to turn into a yandere."

Sakura gave him a hard look. "Do you really think I'm capable of that?"

Naruto's look didn't sit well with her. "Do you remember how you cried and raged the afternoon you found out he was officially dating Hisana? I sat with you on the roof of the science building until well into the evening."

"But I always supported him."

"Well… yeah… but you also were the one who initiated this idea that Byakuya was a different person because of Hisana." His raised his hands in defense as she prepared to argue. "I'm not saying that that isn't true. But you argued with him about it. Multiple times."

"I don't like this observant version of you, Naruto-kun."

He only grinned at her.

That didn't stop that anxious feeling welling up in her though. Had her relationship with Itachi really been a lie? Was she really trying to break Byakuya and Hisana up this whole time?

He had picked her up from the station again. She tried to stay home, to skip the night with him. But she had no actual reason to skip it and even her lies didn't land with him. When he threatened to pick her up from her apartment, she caved and said she was heading for the subway. Today, she wore an army green cardigan, white tank top, black leggings, and sandals. This time, in the train station, there was no alarm going off, no Lolita on the platform with her, and no creepy drunk men stumbling around. The trains were running smoothly and she got on in a nearly empty car.

It was almost like the universe was pushing her quicker towards him.

He waited for her just outside the station, leaning against the side of his car and sipping a cup of coffee. They didn't say much in the car on the way to his apartment building; there just didn't seem to be much to talk about.

When they stepped into the elevator at his apartment building, he looked over at her. It wasn't the significance of the look so much as it was how he looked at her that made her notice. "What?"

He merely grunted before pulling her into a one-armed hug, her face buried in his chest. He could feel her tense before relaxing against his body, a small hand pressing against his stomach. It wasn't often that he initiated a hug, as he didn't like people invading his space. Even growing up, it had almost always been Sakura who lunged at him with open arms. Her eyes widened when she felt him press his nose in her hair.

"You always smell like lavender," he mumbled.

"I… it's… it's the shampoo I always use."

He hummed. When the elevator doors opened, he released her and led her down the hall. Byakuya knew Hisana was waiting for him in front of his apartment. She had texted him just as he parked in the garage. Sakura faltered in her steps behind him before walking slower. And he knew exactly what this looked like to her.

"There you are," Hisana purred as they approached. S"I was beginning to think you were going to stand me up. Oh… I didn't realize she was invited. How are you these days, Sakura? How's your nursing job going?"

"I'm fine," she ground out. And, I'm a pediatric surgeon."

"Of course, of course. How could I forget? But, isn't that a busy job? Don't you have patients your need to look after?"

Byakuya moved to block Hisana's view of her. "Enough."

"Oh, come on, Byakuya. I was just making conversation. I don't know many children doctors after all." She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. "Besides, it'd be good to have her around when we have kids of our own."

Byakuya wasn't forceful in removing her arms from around him. But his gesture drove a point home. "Why are you here?"

"Can't a girl surprise her man?"

"I asked you to stop coming here."

Sakura's brows rose behind him. He never told her this. But judging from Hisana's expression, this was something she'd heard, but chose to ignore.

"Oh, come on. I know you didn't really mean that." When he didn't respond, she frowned and crossed her arms across her chest. "I am your girlfriend. I should always be able to come over when I want, especially when you invite your pathetic, pining friend."

"Watanabe-san, that is enough," he said firmly. "I have warned you multiple time to never insult her. She is my friend. And, the _only_ reason I didn't have security throw you out before I arrived was so I could tell you face to face that I have _no_ desire to continue this relationship with you."

Her face paled. "...What?"

Behind him, Sakura was stunned. Her mouth fell open, unable to give her own response.

"In the last couple of months, I've realize what a poor decision I made in dating you. You only wanted me for the money and publicity. You had no real feelings for me."

"Of course I've always had feelings for you. We made plans for the future."

"They were not genuine. This is the last time I wish to speak with you face to face and in private. If you wish to contact me, you will have to email me. Any correspondence will be thwarted, as well as any threats against me or Haruno-san."

Her sneer was ugly and twisted. "We'll see about that, Kuchiki Byakuya. You better watch your back, bitch. You'll pay for stealing him away from me."

Byakuya shielded Sakura as Hisana stormed past them and punched the button for the elevator. While she waited, he silently urged Sakura to go into the apartment. She could only nod dumbly and fumbled with his keys to get inside.

Once Hisana finally left, he went inside to find his friend sitting on the couch, knees drawn up against her chest. She glanced at him and then looked back the TV. She had put it in the news. Instead of saying something, he walked into the kitchen and brought out the bowls of food he'd made before picking her up. It consisted of rice, kimchi, and Korean beef, some of her favorite foods.

"Come eat," he commanded, throwing a sitting pillow down on the floor for her before taking his own seat across from her. Slowly, she came to join him at the coffee table.

Their meal starred off quietly. Sakura wasn't sure how to even start talking to him again. Did she ask why he broke up with her for good? At the risk of bearing her own heart? This new development should have made her happy, excited in a way.

But it didn't. She felt like her mind and heart, without her knowing, had come to terms with the two of them being together for the rest of their lives.

"Sakura."

She peeked up at him.

"Eat."

She sighed and set her chopsticks down. "What happened, Byakuya? I mean, with Hisana. I thought... well you said the two of you had talked about marriage and you were considering getting her a ring."

He hummed and set his chopsticks down, wiping his mouth. "Indeed. However, as I told her, these past couple of months made me realize that we were incompatible and perhaps always had been. I know she only wanted me for the money and publicity, as I believe I only wanted her for her family connections. Both of us were hoping the other would change for the aim of something for realistic and genuine. But people don't change. The environment around them changes."

She frowned. "Are you still going on about what I said before about you changing?"

He gave her a look. "No. I'm saying our relationship was doomed from the start. I just didn't realize it. I chose her, believing her to be the best option for what my clan wanted. I have always listened to the clan's advisors, thinking they had my best intentions in mind. But they were only concerned with the clan's image."

"So what does that mean for you now?"

"That night, when you explained why you didn't like Hisana, you told me that I need to consider my own happiness."

"O-Of course." She picked up her chopsticks, pushing her food around in her bowl. "But that doesn't answer what you're going to do next."

He said nothing for a couple minutes and ate some more of his food. She ate a couple grains of rice, hoping he wouldn't hear the nervous shaking of her chopsticks.

"The night of our graduation, when we were drunk and made out on the couch, how did you feel about that?"

She paused. "I thought we wouldn't talk about that again. We agreed."

"We're talking about it now."

Now she chewed on a mouthful of rice and beef. It was almost a full minute or two before she answered. "I was still dating Itachi."

"Are you saying you regret it?"

"I don't know what I'm saying," she said forcefully, trying to shovel as much food in her mouth that she could, afraid of what she might say next.

He took her silence as affirmation and stood, walking into the kitchen. After a couple minutes, when he didn't immediately return, Sakura swallowed her food and rested her chin on her knees, arms wrapped tightly around her shins.

"I remember that night so vividly," she said out loud, not sure if he was listening or not. She couldn't hear him moving around in the kitchen behind her, but pressed on with her words. "I always liked you. As a friend, sure. But when we entered high school and then university, I realized I liked you more than that. You don't understand how long I'd waited for you to look at me the way you did that night. I dated Itachi because it seemed like you and Hisana would be together forever. And I couldn't chase after you forever; I couldn't do that to myself. But... that night... I thought maybe you had finally seen me and I was so happy. And then you didn't want to talk about it the next morning. You made it seem like you had made a terrible mistake."

Byakuya eased himself next to her on the floor. She had closed her eyes, a couple tears slipping down her cheeks.

"And then, you were spending more time with Hisana. I thought you regretted that night. I thought... I thought you hated me."

He reached over to touch her cheek, making her open her eyes. He wiped the tears away. "I would never."

"I know," she whispered, closing her eyes again and savoring the warmth of his hands on her face and neck. "And I never regretted that night."

She felt his lips brush hers and swallowed the soft sound she wanted to make. When he pulled back, her lips were trembling. But she didn't open her eyes.

"I had no intention of marrying Hisana. Those months before the photos and articles started, was some of the best months I had in awhile. And they were with you. I saw your feelings that night but thought they were only because of the alcohol." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

That kiss was enough to convince her of his words and she pressed herself into his embrace as they sat on the floor. She knew Hisana wouldn't give up. And he knew it too. And she knew Sasuke and Itachi would be upset by this new development. But she didn't care. She was happy and no one was going to rob her of it now.

* * *

Thank you for reading. This isn't the end, I promise. I just wanted to take this space to thank you for reading and let you all know that your kind words are really appreciated 3 You don't have to leave reviews, but they're definitely appreciated. And thank you to those who don't leave comments. Just the fact that you're reading this fanfiction means a lot to me.

Next chapter will be posted soon!


	6. VI - Third Time's the Charm

**VI - Third Time's the Charm**

Sakura thought when she moved on to the afterlife, she would forget everything from when she was alive. And part of her hoped that she would.

But she remembered everything - from when she was a young child being bullied for her forehead up through her dying breath, bleeding out through her self-inflicted wound while cradling Sasuke in her lap. Every so often, her fingertips would touch the jagged skin at the front of her throat.

When she arrived, they designated her to the Thirtieth Northern District of Rukongai, which wasn't necessarily poor, like anything after District Fifty. But, it certainly wasn't the First District. Upon joining the ongoing line of the dead migrating into the Soul Society, she was given enough money to buy new clothes, food, and a place to live. She lived in a small one-room space by herself, as it was all she could afford. At least it had an actual door and lock.

The last of her money that she could spare, she spent on a large chest. After she washed and dried them, she placed the clothes she died in and the weapons she died with in the chest, locking it. While part of her felt a sense of nostalgia for having her things still with her, they would be no use here.

The citizens of Rukongai were protected by the Shinigami, or so she had heard. The Reapers of Souls worked and lived in the center, guarded by a high wall. This high wall separated Rukongai from Seireitei. The old woman who lived next to her pointed out a patrolling group of them as they walked through the district. Their attire reminded her of the man who had sent her here. He hadn't given her his name. But if she ever saw him again...

Still, most of the Shinigami who passed through seemed more like common street thugs than the actual warrior the man seemed to be. A couple cat-called her while walking home from the market, but she ignored them. It was during another encounter that one of them actually grabbed her by the elbow. Even in this realm, her chakra had not disappeared, and neither had her strength. She spun and landed a solid push in his stomach, knocking the air out of him and flinging him into the shop down the road. After that, word spread that the pink-haired young woman was to be given a wide berth.

Every morning, she dragged herself out of bed, ate breakfast, and then went to help at the orphanage a couple roads over for some extra money, though it wasn't much. The children there, while alone, enjoyed spending time with her. They were initially enraptured by her pink hair and green eyes, reminding them of cherry blossoms, her namesake. Then, they listened to her stories. She never identified the shinobi of her past by name and never said if she was involved in any of these stories.

And they called her Sakura-hime.

One girl was brought in with a high-grade fever and respiration issues. Word of her gentle healing techniques were spreading through the district and every so often, she was called for her healing skills. They set the young child up in one of the shared bedrooms, feeding her water and broth while Sakura worked her chakra in her to keep her comfortable. One evening, while Sakura kept vigil over her, she cracked her eyes open and whispered if she was a princess come to heal her. Sakura only changed the rag on her forehead and bid her to sleep again. When the child awoke more alert, she spotted Sakura and immediately called her, "Hime!" Even though Sakura tried to correct her, the other children immediately started calling her 'Sakura-hime.'

The days when she didn't go to the orphanage, she went to the nearby river and collected fish and any berries she could find along the banks. If she didn't need the food, she'd train herself, meditating, storing chakra, practicing chakra use, and even used her kunai. A couple times, she brought out the katana and tanto Kakashi had given her as a birthday present. But they were never her weapons of choice.

The nights were hard.

Her nightly routine involved staying awake over multiple nights until her body and mind demanded that she sleep. It was always that darkness fell over her without her knowing. And that's what made the nightmares so terrible.

The nightmares always replayed the time leading up to her death and even afterwards. The fear the clenched her chest and throat at the enemies closing in on them and her decision that death would be far more welcoming than the tortures they would put her through. Listening to Sasuke's cries and him begging for help as the Gates of Hell dragged him away. Watching Naruto cry to himself in his apartment and expending half of her chain to warn Kakashi that their blonde friend was in danger.

They seemed never ending, on a constant loop. Waking up was always a struggle, the feeling similar to trying to blink while someone held her eyes open. She always woke screaming and panting, her yukata soaked with sweat and her hair sticking to her neck. In the time before the sun broke above the horizon, she would find herself submerged in the river, scrubbing her skin and hair.

But it was never enough to keep the nightmares at bay.

After two months, she had no more tears to give. But that didn't stop her from dry sobbing. She couldn't take their pleas - for help, for her to return. The only thing that drove her to get up was knowing she needed to help Misa at the orphanage. Even the rowdy ones seemed to calm when she came and did activities with them. Their smiles and laughter were the one beam of light in this dismal afterlife.

And then the day came where her training was finally put to use.

The creatures that terrorized Rukongai and Seireitei were called Hollows, creatures of various sizes and shapes that had bone masks. She'd heard other whispering of attacks in other districts, but had never seen one for herself.

And then four attacked her district. They seemingly appeared out of nowhere, crushing homes and shops. Sakura's instinct was to reach for her weapons holster, which was still locked away in the chest. But she had to do something quickly. People ran and screamed, tripping over each other and pushing each other out of the way. And she noticed one of them headed for the orphanage.

Where were the Shinigami? Weren't they supposed to help with this sort of situation?

She growled as she ripped the bottom of her yukata off and charged into the epicenter of the madness. She grabbed a metal pole from a fallen shop and chucked it like a javelin at the looming monster. It was only a distraction. As the children ran inside the orphanage, she ran for its legs, using her strength to break its knees. As it fell, she jumped up and punched it in the face, shattering the mask to shards.

This brought the attention of the other three Hollow, who roared at her. As the monster disintegrated beneath her feet, she grabbed the metal pole again.

When the Shinigami actually arrived, the last of the Hollows had disappeared and all that remained were the destroyed buildings and the rubble. Sakura knelt on the ground, helping some of her rogue orphans who'd gotten trapped outside of the orphanage. No one else dared to traverse the streets in the vicinity. Byakuya led the group and recognized her.

"Woman."

She stood and looked over her shoulder at him. Her emerald green orbs told him she recognized who he was. She settled a small boy on her hip. "You're too late. I already took care of those creatures. Your response time to attack is sorely lacking, Shinigami."

"Hey, watch who you're talking to," one of his subordinates said.

"I don't care _who_ you are," she scowled, turning to face them. The other children clung to her ruined yukata. Except for the ruined hem, she was otherwise unscathed. "All I care about is that people died here and you're only just now arriving on the scene. I understand that there's a lot of people to protect and that, if we die here, we are reincarnated in the Material World. But what's the point when you clearly don't care to respond immediately? We're not just numbers."

"I said watch your mouth."

"Inumuta," Byakuya said. But both men were surprised when she stood in front of the subordinate, her fist poised next to his face while she scowled at him. The air between them gusted and even the men behind him felt it.

"I'll care when you _actually_ save lives next time."

The children cried out in fear and they all looked to see another Hollow approaching. It wasn't very big, not much taller than Byakuya. But he had muscle and bulk. Byakuya moved in front of her. "Leave with the children."

The creature moved quickly though, aiming for the children. He readied to swing his blade, but the Hollow dropped to its knees before him. Or, before her. A single finger piercing the mask between the eyes, cracks splintering through it. Then is dissipated. Byakuya stared at the woman's back. The children cried out and ran to hug her legs again.

"Impossible," Inumuta whispered. "Do you... woman, do you have a zanpakuto?"

"Zanpakuto?" She lifted the same small boy onto her hip. "I don't know what that is."

"It's the sword we all carry."

"Then, no. As you can see, I have no form of weaponry on me or at my disposal. Merely my fists and chakra. Or, reiatsu, as I'm told you refer to it as." She glared at Byakuya. "I almost wish you had left me to wander back in the forest."

"Sakura-hime," a small girl whined, tugging at her yukata. "I have a boo-boo. Can you heal it with your magic?"

She took her hand, corralling the other children with her. "Don't worry. I'll look over all of you. I promise. Let's get back to Misa-chan, ne? And then we can have some apples."

Inumuta and the others looked to Byakuya. "What should we do about the report?"

\/\/\/

The next day, a woman in the Shinigami uniform had approached her while she was at the orphanage. The children all greeted the woman politely and she smiled at each other them, accepting flowers from a few of them. A second, taller woman followed behind, easily caught in the children's activities and stories. Sakura stood and bowed to the first woman. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Shinigami-sama. I didn't know we'd have a guest today. Allow me to make some tea while I get Misa-san for you."

"Ah, please, this is an impromptu visit. And we've come to meet with you, actually," she smiled. She was older. She didn't look much older. But there was certainly an air about her that suggested she'd experienced quite a bit of history.

"Me?"

"Yes. I've heard some things about you and someone suggested I come speak with you."

They spoke on the back porch over tea while her fukutaichou, Kotetsu Isane, sat with the children in the grass. The man who had sent Sakura to the Soul Society was named Kuchiki Byakuya and he had suggested to the woman, Unohana Retsu, that they speak. He'd seen her healing the children with her chakra and how the children didn't reach negatively to it. This was unusual for someone who was well-versed in healing. Seems healing was usually a painful process and required a large amount of time and reiatsu.

They'd also talked about how she fought five Hollows with no weapons.

"Kuchiki-san just doesn't know how to keep out of other people's business, does he?"

Unohana chuckled. "It's not that, Haruno-san. I assure you. He wanted me to speak with you because if you continue as you have been doing - fighting the Hollows that appear here before a Shinigami can arrive - word will get back to the Soutaichou."

She raised a delicate brow. "Will it? If word gets back to him, will he pressure the others to respond quicker? And tell those who patrol to be more honorable?"

"Ah, you're the pink-haired demon they refer to, I see."

"My reputation precedes me then."

"Not only have you sufficiently scared some of the patrol men here, Kuchiki-taichou told me how you berated him and his men for not being prompt in their response to the attack." This made Sakura blush hotly. "To know that there's someone out here who is very passionate about the well-being of Rukongai residents amazes me. There are many of us Shinigami who forget that they need our protection. The number of people here and the number of people in the Material World have to be in balance in order to keep both planes in check."

A child started to wail out in the grass, clutching his knee. Sakura jumped down and ran over to him. Unohana and Isane watched as she calmed the boy with soothing words and gentle hands. He hugged her tightly as her hand glowed green above his knee. Unohana watched as the skin mended itself together. The child didn't cry in pain or complain.

"Thank you, Sakura-hime," he mumbled, wiping his eyes.

"You're welcome, Kubo-chan. You can go ask Misa-san for a pear before playing again."

As they boy ran inside, Unohana approached the woman. "I came here because I want to suggested that you enter the Academy and become a Shinigami in my Division.

\/\/\/

When the messengers came for her, asking that she come to meet with the Soutaichou of Seireitei, she told them to wait for her to get dressed properly. She disrobed from her yukata and opened the chest, taking out the clothes she hadn't worn in almost two years.

Her shorts, her breast bindings and mesh shirt, her red qipao dress with black obi, and her pink elbow and knee guards. The last things to go on before her sandals were her black gloves, a second skin that she hadn't realized was missing. And her red headband. When she arrived in Rukongai, she considered crossing out the Konohagakure symbol. But she couldn't. She hadn't defected and she never betrayed her village. As she tied in place, everything settled inside her - the fear, the anxiety, and even her chakra.

Everything was in place once again.

The messengers were surprised by her garb and eyed the kunai holster on her right thigh. "You asked me to see the Soutaichou. This is the dress of my people. Or, do you want to tell the Soutaichou you failed in delivering your message?"

They brought her to two large gilded doors, where a man with neatly maintained lavender-colored hair and black mustache stood. He dipped his head to her and she bowed at the waist. "Thank you for coming, Haruno-san," he said. "The Soutaichou, Unohana-taichou, and Kuchiki-taichou are waiting for you in the gardens."

He turned and walked away. She quickly followed behind, marveling at the berth and beauty of the garden. The man led her down the steps into the grass and across to a setting among cherry blossoms. It wasn't lost on her the significance of the spot and wryly wondered what exactly they were doing. Like the man said, Kuchiki and Unohana were sitting with an old man, whose beard stretched almost into the grass and whose eyebrows had grown well past presentable. With them, sat a man with wild red hair pulled back in a ponytail and Unohana's fukutaichou, Kotetsu.

Unohana addressed her first, with a kind smile. "Welcome. We're glad you were able to join us. Please sit."

She bowed deeply to them before sitting. "Thank you for having me."

The man who led her in, whom she later named was Choujiro Sasakibe, sat next to the Soutaichou and poured out the tea for each person at the table. The Soutaichou drank the tea first and then hummed in acceptance. Then the Shinigami drank. And finally, Sakura was allowed her sip of tea, savoring the gentle orange flavor beneath the black tea.

"The men of various divisions have reported to me that a woman with pink hair and immense strength from the North Thirtieth District of Rukongai has been defeating Hollows and healing injured and sick citizens," the Soutaichou said. "Have you heard of these reports?"

"Hai."

"Do you dispute these claims?"

"There is no reason for me to."

The Soutaichou hummed. "Yet, you do not carry a zanpakuto with you."

"That is not the way I was trained," she answered immediately. "I remember my past life. I was trained as a shinobi, my chakra inextricably tied to my very life. I can level mountain with two fingers and decimate the very ground upon which Seireitei sits with a single punch. Sever any limb or destroy my organs and I can regenerate them in the moment. Bring me someone on the brink of death and I will pour everything I have into them."

Her green eyes blazed. "I can't say I know why I was brought here. But I do know that I care for those citizens in and around my district."

The Soutaichou opened an eye and the others seemed taken aback by this. But Sakura would not be cowed and stared back at him.

"Unohana-taichou said she offered that you join the Academy and train to become a Shinigami to join her division. Yet, you have refused to do so."

"The way of Shinigami is not the way I was trained. I would much rather keep the way I was trained than lose myself." Her hand unconsciously touched her throat, the scar. The others noticed, though Sakura did not notice their looks.

Suddenly, she flashed away, meters from where she sat and kunai pierced through the pillow. She frowned as two black-clad Shinigami stood before her, like ninja. "So, this is meant as a test."

No one answered. The two disappeared, on the offense. Sakura closed her eyes, time slowing down around her. Yes, she remembered everything, could feel her chakra flowing like a river inside her. She didn't become a survive the Fourth Shinobi War, battle Kaguya, and get named a Sanin only to forget what was ingrained in her very cells. She created a shadow clone of herself and attacked.

Her clone's hands ignited with white chakra, slapping them on various parts of the Shinigami's. The real Sakura grabbed the other's wrist and slammed her fist into his stomach, his body going limp. A third ninja landed in front of her and she dodged his attacks, running backwards to put enough distance between them. But he surprised her, flashing before her and jabbing his sword through her shoulder.

But she turned into a log.

The man had no chance to turn and defend himself before she flicked his forehead with a finger, flinging him back into the building.

And as much as the Shinigami at the table were astounded by her offense, they were also enraptured by the green chakra that surrounded the fallen men, who now sat up, staring at their own bodies.

"Part of me anticipated a test and brought my own inventions with me." She pulled out a small disk, barely bigger than a coin. "I created these. When placed on my opponent, it immediately disperses the healing chakra I stored inside to heal them. Yes, they _felt_ my attacks. The one I punched, his organs ruptured and the other had his nervous system scrambled. But, this immediately healed them."

The Soutaichou hummed and Unohana perked up. "Then, perhaps you would be better suited to join the Onmitsukido with your ninja-like skills."

Sakura frowned. "No. I will remain in Rukongai."

And then she was gone in a swirl of pink smoke.


	7. VII - Secret of Our Misunderstanding

**VII - Secret of Our Misunderstanding  
**

"Sakura?"

She looked up and gasped, pressing her book against her nose and mouth, green orbs wide. Before her stood someone she was sure she would never see again. "B-Byakuya?"

He wore tight, long black gym pants with baggy shorts over it. On his upper body, he had on a grey tank and his phone strapped to his arm. She was dressed in a white sundress with orange flowers on it. "Why are you here?"

She lowered her book a bit. "I... well, I mean... what are you doing here?"

"I run here each afternoon."

She blushed and tried to hide it behind her book. Yes, she could tell he did. His biceps were well defined and she had no doubt that the rest of his body was too. It wasn't like she didn't already know. After all, she could remember the way he braced himself above her, naked and covered in a fine sheen of sweat, pounding into her. She clenched her legs together. "Uh, well, that's... great. I... I don't come to this park very often."

He looked around. "Are you here with someone?"

Her eyes darted around too. "S... Sort of."

He took a step back. She hadn't even realize he had been standing so close to her. And, by his expression, he hadn't realized it either. Byakuya closed his beautiful slate grey eye from her. "I apologize."

"That's okay." She swallowed thickly. "It was great seeing you again, Byakuya-kun. We should chat again... next time."

He stood for a couple seconds, watching her, before nodding and jogging off.

Sakura breathed out a soft sigh when she could no longer see him and set her book in her lap, closing it. Her heart hammered in her chest. Seeing him again, it wass like that time again five years ago. Byakuya had seduced her at a company soiree that her friend, Yamanaka Ino, had invited her to as her plus one. They had seen each other across the room and she hadn't initially planned to ask him to dance, much less introduce herself.

But Ino gave her a couple drinks to boost her confidence. And, thankfully, she wasn't drunk, just buzzed enough to saunter over and ask him for a dance. He tried to stare her down, cow her into tittering away. But, she'd had alcohol. Stubborn became her first name then. He raised a brow when she didn't leave, her fists on her hips.

So, he obliged.

They had talked and got to know each other. And, somehow, whatever she had said or done convinced him to take her to his apartment and have a passionate night together. She woke up the next morning, ready to make her escape. But he sat on the edge of the bed, a glass of water and aspirin in hand. He said nothing as he handed them to her and then stood, depositing a t-shirt and sweatpants on the bed.

 _"Can... can I shower?"_

 _He looked back at her over his shoulder and nodded, exiting the room._

 _When she finished and dressed, he had placed a bowl of rice, daikon radishes, and a neatly folded square omelette on a small dish next to it. He had even boiled a pot of oolong tea to go with it._

 _"What's this for?"_

 _He only raised a brow and turned to wash the dishes in the sink. She sat at the breakfast bar, said a soft thanks, and picked up her chopsticks to eat._

 _"I distinctly remember you being more talkative last night."_

 _But he said nothing in response, no pause in his chore._

 _"If you wanted to get rid of me so badly, you should have just kicked me out."_

 _"Do not think me so dishonorable."_

 _"Ah, so he speaks."_

 _He finished the dishes and dried his hands. Then, he poured himself a cup of the tea and finally turned to face her. And he stared into her eyes. All the alcohol had drained from her system and now Shyness became her first name, her eyes dropping to her food. But he reached over and lifted her chin with a finger._

 _"I had no intention of kicking you out," he said softly, a thumb tracing her bottom lip. Her breath hitched. "You are more than welcome to leave once you're done. But you mentioned wanting more time with me. I'm willing to indulge."_

Oh, and he had indulged alright.

"Kaa-chan!"

She jerked from the memories of that first night. A small, black-haired child ran up to her, grinning and flinging herself in Sakura's lap. She chuckled and attempted to tame her wild hair. "Yes, Iko-chan?"

The child pressed her face in Sakura's stomach. "I love you, Kaa-chan."

"I love you too, my precious girl."

"Slide with me?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. Come, come."

Sakura set her book down and allowed her daughter to pull her along.

\/\/\/

"May I sit?"

This time, she wasn't taken off guard by his appearance. She'd seen him coming down the path and raised her book over her nose to pretend she'd been enraptured by the contents. In actuality, she'd read the same two sentences over and over again as he sauntered up to her. Today, he wore tight black pants and a navy blue long-sleeve shirt. "Ohayo... Kuchiki-san."

He raised a brow, his signature look. "Ah. Haruno-san."

"It seems only... polite, especially after so long." She tucked her dark blue skirt under her leg and gestured next to her. "Please sit."

He hummed as he sat. "I assumed we were past pleasantries."

She blushed. "Well, it's been about five years since we saw each other. You were busy with your job and I... had moved to Okinawa."

His gaze was intense as they looked at each other. She dropped her gaze first, but his finger tipped her chin back up. "Don't hide from me."

"Byakuya..."

His thumb traced her bottom lip. It was a gesture she remembered well and, yet, didn't realize she'd missed. He pulled his hand back. "What brought you back?"

Sakura cleared her throat. "I've been doing more art shows here in Tokyo and making children's books. I thought things would be easier for me to move back."

"Children's books?"

She shrugged, tucking her waist-length hair behind her ear. "I found some inspiration when I lived in Okinawa."

"Inspiration?"

She only smiled. "All that matters is that it still inspires me."

He stared at her and said quietly, "Come to dinner."

"Tonight?"

He hummed.

Her cheeks flushed, she could feel it. "I couldn't. I wouldn't want to upset your girlfriend or anything."

He smirked. "I have not been with anyone since you left."

"Really?"

He hummed again.

"Let's... let's aim for Friday night then. I have to make some arrangements to my schedule."

And then he took her hand and dropped a soft kiss on her knuckles. Her heart was going to burst from her chest.

\/\/\/

Sakura expected him to take her out to a fancy restaurant. He had done it a couple times when they were together. But, she should have remembered that Kuchiki Byakuya was not one for flashiness. He had invited her to his penthouse, the same one he had five years ago, just redecorated. The last time, it was more modern, sleek, and minimalist. But this felt homier, more earthy tones, and softer angles. It actually felt like someone lived here.

He made them a simple dinner - brown rice, grilled mackerel, nikujaga, sunomono, and miso soup. For dessert, he admitted to ordering fried ice cream and brought it out of the freezer for them to share. She commented on him disliking sweet stuff. But he only hummed and ate a spoonful then fed her a spoonful.

They didn't talk for long. Sakura wasn't capable of talking for long when she was in his presence after so long. And he must have felt the same way. Byakuya was not a man of many intimate gestures. And the one she knew was reserved for her was his fingers touching her chin and his thumb on her bottom lip. Even if she didn't believe he'd been with any other woman - even for a one night stand - she knew he saved this gesture for her.

Byakuya made love to her right there on the couch, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse that overlooked downtown Tokyo. Then, he carried her into his bedroom when he had her again, but allowed her to ride him.

As Sakura clung to him in the midst of her orgasm, she realized that she wouldn't be able to bear being separated from him again. And he cupped the back of her head, sealing their lips together.

\/\/\/

Three months after their date night, Sakura and Byakuya took up casually dating again like five years hadn't passed. With both of them busy during the week, it was hard to see each other, though she sometimes did bring him lunch. Most times, they just spoke about their weeks or day. Sometimes, he would invite his sister, Rukia, to join them for lunch. Other times, when it was just the two of them, he would bend her over his desk, reveling in the feel of her heat wrapped around him. And she'd always leave his office with a passionate kiss.

However, if he wanted to call and chat on the phone, he had to wait until after eight in the evening, or wait for her to call. She insisted it was because she was busy with her work. Not only that, but she didn't want him to visit her apartment. When he'd ask or even suggest it, she would start to panic. Not overly so, but she would ramble excuses. So, they spent most of their time at his apartment when they weren't out.

But Kuchiki Byakuya was starting to get suspicious. His friend and brother-in-law, Abarai Renji, suggested that maybe she was actually seeing another person. After all, the first time he saw her, she had said she was with someone at the park. After that, she never confirmed whether she was or wasn't seeing someone.

But he knew Sakura. She wasn't the type to do something like that.

Right?

However, as they entered month four of seeing each other, he wasn't so sure that Renji was wrong.

He invited her for dinner at a low key restaurant in downtown Tokyo. She greeted him as usual, hugging him tightly and then reaching up on her toes to kiss him sweetly. He reveled in her warmth on this cool summer day, pecking her lips again when she pulled back. But he had to remind himself that there was a particular reason behind this date.

They sat, looking over the menu while chatting, and then ordered their meals. After the waiter had left, Byakuya took that as his cue. "Sakura."

"Hm?" She blinked and then smiled sheepishly. "Oh, sorry. Was I rambling again?"

He hadn't even noticed she'd been talking. But he smiled gently to placate her. "No."

"Then, what is it?" She reached across the table to touched his interlaced fingers. "Are you okay?"

"We have been seeing each other for four months," he started, his smile dropping. "I believe you are still keeping a significant part of your life hidden from me. Not only that. You won't allow me into your apartment."

He could feel her freeze and then she slowly pulled her hand away, brows only slightly furrowed. "Ah, that again. You know I feel... embarrassed by the state of my apartment compared to yours."

"If I believed that to be the real reason, I would not feel this way."

"What do you want me to say?"

It took him a second to respond, but he answered with a quiet sigh. "I bring it up because I want to know how serious you are about this, between us."

"Oh." She leaned back in the booth, sighing and hanging her head back. He waited quietly while she gathered her thoughts, staring up at the ceiling. "I guess I can't hide it anymore, clearly," she finally said. Her voice was barely more than a mumble.

But Byakuya heard it and steeled himself for the worst.

"We should take our food to go. I have something to show you."

He blinked and frowned. "Show me?"

She stood. "Yeah. Why don't you bring the car around and I'll pay for our food?"

\/\/\/

Sakura took a deep breath as she keyed into the front door of the apartment complex. "After our last night, five years ago, I know we agreed that we would have to have separate lives. That's part of the reason I left to Okinawa. But, there was another reason and I... I wasn't ready to let you know. I wasn't sure when I would have let you know."

"Why?"

They rode the elevator up to the fifth floor. "Please, just... keep an open mind. We can talk more later, if you want. But I'm going to show you the reason why I've been acting... strange since we've been together again."


	8. VIII - The Flower Who Was Named

**VIII - The Flower Who Was Named**

The next time she had seen Kuchiki Byakuya, it was not long after she had been promoted to the third seat of the Fourth Division. It had been seven years since the day she stormed out of the previous Soutaichou's garden. The next day, she joined the Academy and passed the Gotei 13 entrance exams with flying colors..

She didn't join because she had caved to their pressures. She joined because when she reached her home, she noticed her hands trembling and her nerves shot. And, in that moment, she realized her body was ready; it was ready for battle, for healing the masses like she'd done back in Konoha. That night, for the first time in a while, she had cried tears. She didn't want to join, to learn a different way of fighting. But she had to. She was going to waste away, become a shell of herself, if she didn't.

And, even though her position was in the medical field, she had a strong zanpakuto, which used the two tattoos of dragons she had on her back. Sai had designed them back in Konoha and then oversaw the artist who had done them, making sure he got them just right. The blue-furred and red-furred dragon would become the basis for her zanpakuto, Intoyo no Ryu, whose shikai call was, "Tatakiwaru (smash)".

It was strange, having another entity occupying her mind, speaking to her when it wished. It moved the tattoos over her skin like the fierce lizards were actually flying through the pale sky that was her skin. And, like Sai's drawings, could lift from her skin and be used as an attack.

Her shihakusho was pretty standard, though her haori was sleeveless. And, on her hands, she wore black tekko that extended up her biceps. She would have worn her black gloves but it felt wrong to wear Konoha gear as a Shinigami. Her hair, which had grown to her waist, she cut to her shoulders and kept it up in a bun on top of her head. Underneath, like Ino used to, she would did wear her headband around her waist.

In the early mornings, she would go back to the river she lived near and would train like how Kakashi and Tsunade taught her. She would follow it with training with her zanpakuto. Though, training with her sword was always met with inner resistance.

In becoming a ranked Shinigami, she met and became friends with many of the higher ranking Shinigami - like Matsumoto Rangiku, Izuru Kira, Hinamori Momo, Kotetsu Isane, Kuchiki Rukia, Abarai Renji, Komamura Sajin, and Ise Nanao. She even met Kurosaki Ichigo and was touched by his determination to protect and battle; it reminded her of Naruto. Another surprising meet was Kyoraku Shunsui, the current Soutaichou. His laid back attitude yet serious personality reminded her a lot of Kakashi. It wasn't that she was interested in Kyoraku in a romantic way. But something about him made him easy to be around, should they ever find themselves in each other's company. He shared tea with her a couple times, one of which was to formally meet the pink haired demon from the Northern Thirtieth District. It wasn't a name she wished to keep but he assured her that few knew about it.

But none of these new friends asauged that bitter hole that remained in her heart. It kept her up most nights, laying on her futon in the barracks when she had nothing to do. Previously, Unohana had found her spending most of her nights reading medical texts. In an effort to force Sakura to sleep, she allowed her only two nights a month to read medical texts in the Fourth Division library, unable to borrow overnight. When Isane assumed position of captain, she implemented the same rule.

That was a hard blow.

The nightmares had lessened, even seven years later. But that didn't mean that they weren't still real enough for her to experience every emotion and touch like she was there again. And going through the Thousand Years Blood War, watching people die left and right... it was like being in the Fourth Shinobi War all over again. That, however, didn't cause new nightmares. It caused the old ones to resurface for a time before they faded again.

Matsumoto Rangiku, who reminded her quite a lot of Ino, had taken her out for drinks to celebrate her promotion. She had invited Rukia, Momo, Nanao, and even Isane. But the others hadn't come, which was fine with Sakura. Of course, the strawberry blonde had tried to cajole Hitsugaya Toshiro, her captain, to go with them. But, the short captain refused.

And, just like Ino used to do, Rangiku lamented about how Sakra had no interest in any of the men they worked with.

"Well, it's not like _you're_ with anyone," Sakura pointed out, slamming her shot glass down. They were on their third drink. It wasn't even giving her a buzz.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong," she grinned. Sakura was sure Rangiku either had a stronger sake, or was just a lightweight. She leaned in close to whisper, "I've been sleeping with Shuhei-kun for a couple of months now."

"What? No way."

"Way." She tossed back the rest of her drink and demanded more. "So, you need to hook up with someone too. Oh, what about Abarai-kun?"

"With those crazy tattoos on his forehead? No thank you. Besides, he's totally going to propose to Kuchiki Rukia."

"Um... Kira-kun?"

"Nah. Not into blondes."

"How about... Kyoraku-taichou?"

Sakura leered at her. "How old is he?"

"Good point." She tapped her chin, thinking. "Oh, what about Kuchiki-taichou? He's attractive, single, and powerful. Even his own female subordinates fawn over him. He's one of those brooding types."

"Not interested."

The woman pouted. "Be honest with me, Sakura-chan. Are you into women? Is that why you don't want to date any of the guys?"

It took all of her willpower to not crush the cup in her hand and she threw down her money. "I'm just not ready, okay? I wasn't ready to die when I did and it's still hard sometimes to forget about them. I know it's been... years. But I had someone back when I was alive, okay?" She stood and left the bar, even as Rangiku called her name.

But Rangiku wouldn't chase her; she wasn't that type of person. Sakura strolled through Rukongai, heading back towards the walls. Even at the late hour that it was, some children still ran through the dark roads and alleys. The moon was full up ahead and it reminded her that it had been a full moon when she died.

"Woman."

She looked behind her to see Kuchiki Byakuya walking up behind her. He didn't have his captain's jacket on, with the golden trim and tassels on the collar. She smirked. "Do you ever plan to call me by name?"

"You never gave it."

"You never asked."

He stopped next to her. "I did not intend to see you after our second meeting."

"You mean when I died?" He nodded. "Yeah, I guess it's just pure luck we've run into each other more since then. I never got the chance to thank you for speaking with Unohana-taichou after the time we met in Rukongai. I'm glad I get to help the way I do."

"You are one of the lead nurses in the medical station."

"How'd you know?"

"There are not many women in Seireitei with pink hair."

She chuckled and held her hands behind her back. "I suppose you're right. More people would be confused if they saw Yachiru-chan in the medical station healing people."

They stood together for a couple more minutes before she looked over at him. "I can't imagine that you haven't guess what my name is."

He raised a brow.

"Come on. Tell me. I won't be offended."

He closed his eyes, crossing his arms. They started walking back towards Seireitei. "Michiko."

"Interesting but no."

"Seiko."

"Guess again."

"Yuma."

"Nope."

"Ayumi."

"Are you actually trying or are you just throwing out names?"

They stopped at the wall and he looked down at her, smirking. "You forget. When we met in Rukongai, one of the children cried to you that they had wounded themselves. They called you 'Sakura-hime'. While I didn't suspect that you were a princess, it wasn't hard to determine that Sakura was your given name. All I had to do was go back through the entrance records to find your last name, Haruno-san."

She stared at him, mouth agape.

"Did you truly think Unohana and I had not spoken after I suggested you enter the Academy?"


	9. IX - Tsukiko-chan

**IX - Tsukiko-chan**

She turned the lock and stepped inside, removing her shoes. He followed suit, locking the door. "I'm home. And I brought my friend back."

No one immediately answered, so she went into the kitchen to set their food down. Byakuya shoved his hands in his pants pockets, unsure of what he was supposed to do. Nothing seemed unordinary about her apartment that would indicate that she was with another man. His brows furrowed. Why did he even allow Renji to convince him of anything?

Sakura hummed as she came out of the kitchen. "I guess she's sleeping. Would you like some water?"

"She?"

"Kaa-chan," a small child cheered, bolting towards her from around the corner and hugging her legs. She was dressed in a onesie pajama with cartoon animals dancing across them. Sakura laughed and swung her up in her arms as the child snuggled under her chin. "Baa-chan gave me bubble bath. We reading a book."

"I'm glad you got to have a bubble bath, my little jellybean. Tsukiko-chan, I brought my friend home with me because he wanted to meet you."

The small child finally looked at him, her head popping up. Byakuya didn't know how to respond to what was presented before him. He suddenly understood everything now - why she didn't bring him over, why she'd been vague about her life, and why they had lost touch five years ago. And he felt silly for thinking it was because she was with another man.

The child had jet black hair that reached past her shoulders and bright grey orbs with green highlights in them. Her facial features made her the mini, female version of him, even to the way she furrowed her brows made her look like him. But, as the two stared at each other, the younger's eyes widened and she hid her face in her mother's neck.

"Iko-chan, don't be like that. It's rude."

Her hold tightened, burrowing further. Sakura gave Byakuya an apologetic look and set her daughter down on her feet. "Why don't you head back to Baa-chan and let her finish reading a book to you?"

"Will you tuck me in?"

"Probably not. You know Baa-chan likes to do that when she's here. My friend and I are going to sit in the kitchen and talk for a little bit, okay?"

Tsukiko glanced at Byakuya again, something clearly stirring in her head. She opened her mouth to say something and instead nodded. She left without another word, running to her bedroom. Sakura gestured for Byakuya to follow her into the kitchen. He sat at the island counter while she took down two glasses and filled them with cool water and ice. "I'm sure you've figured it out, my secret. I could always count on you to have the answers."

"She… She's my daughter."

She nodded, sitting next to him and taking a bite of her sushi. He watched her before breaking his chopsticks and digging in. They sat in silence, both of them in their own heads, wondering if or when the other would say something.

Tsunade came out of the bedroom, stretching and walking into the kitchen. "The jelly bean is asleep. You owe me for making me sit through her tea party this evening." She grabbed a marker and marked a tick under her name on the whiteboard on the side of the fridge. There was an ongoing tally between the two of them, documenting how many tea parties each had to sit through. Thus far, the pinkette was far ahead.

Sakura chuckled. "When you've matched or surpassed the number of tea parties I've sat through, then I'll owe you."

The blonde grandmother grumbled under her breath, sliding a folder across the counter before going into the fridge. "Fine, I'm taking a bottle of sake then."

"You know I never touch your sake."

Tsunade gave her a look - pointing to her eyes and then Sakura's - and slipped the bottle into a grocery bag. "I'm working this weekend at the hospital. And next weekend I'm on call."

"I remember. Thank you for babysitting tonight."

"Sure, sure. Have fun tonight." She raised her hand in farewell and then left.

Sakura looked over at Byakuya as she grabbed the file. "Sorry she didn't say anything to you. I mentioned that I would have to say something about… all of this at some point and she wasn't happy about it."

He frowned.

She noticed and pushed her plate away. "Well, it's not like we stopped talking on bad terms… necessarily. I mean, the last time we talked, it wasn't… great. And the fact that I went through my pregnancy by myself… well, you get it."

Now his brows furrowed as his confusion mounted. "The last time we spoke was the morning after. You made me promise to keep in touch."

She shook her head. "You really don't remember? I called you two months later from Okinawa. I had missed my period and knew I had to take a pregnancy test. I called your office. But you were busy. You were in the middle of a merger or something and promised to call me back. You never did."

Byakuya was taken aback, setting his chopsticks down. "Sakura. I received no such call."

"What?" Now she frowned as well. "But, it was you. I'm sure of it."

Byakuya looked down at his own sushi, replaying the last night they'd had together five years ago and the months afterwards. There wasn't any point in which he could remember doing a merger or anything similar and hearing about a call for him from someone. Though...

Byakuya scowled as it dawned on him. "Zakurabon Sen, my assistant."

Sakura slapped her forehead. "Oh my goodness, how could I forget about him? I knew he disliked me but I didn't think it was to that extent."

Zakurabon Sen was a man Byakuya's grandfather - Ginrei - had offered to him as a hardworking and diligent assistant. "It came to light after you left that he had an obsession for me. That is where his jealousy stemmed and why he disliked anyone who was close to me, especially you." Byakuya turned to look at her, cupping her chin. His voice dropped to a low murmur. "If I had known about your call, I would have dropped everything to come to your side. You should have tried to contact me again."

"I was scared. I…" She tried to drop her eyes, but his fingers kept her in place. "I thought, maybe, because you were so involved with taking over and furthering your father's company…"

"That would not stop me from doing what is honorable and right."

Now, he released her and she set the folder between them on the counter, opening it. The first page on top was Tsukiko's birth certificate. Byakuya was surprised to see she had listed him as the father and that her last name was, "Kuchiki? You gave her my last name."

"Yes," she said softly. "I had hoped that, as she got older, I would one day be able to introduce you to her. I would show her pictures of you from the ones we took and the ones I found of you in the media. She asked me, one afternoon, when you were coming home. And it broke my heart. I told her that you were just really busy and doing important stuff."

He flipped through the other documents in the folder, mostly blurbs or half articles about him in from the newspaper and online articles. "You told her about me?"

"Just because I lived in Okinawa doesn't mean that I stopped having feelings for you. I knew that even if you were married and growing a family of your own, you had a right to know who she was and vice versa." She showed him a picture of a newborn Tsukiko. "Tsunade helped me give birth to her. Earlier, Tsukiko didn't want to say anything to you because she knew who you were."

Byakuya held the picture. Sakura was clearly tired and worn from the labor and birth, her pink hair messy and up in a bun. Tsukiko had been wiped down and bundled in a blanket, resting on Sakura's naked breast and holding her index finger. He could see the love and adoration she had for the tiny human, only minutes old. The next picture she handed him was at her third birthday. She sat at a small table with stuffed animals and three other girls, each wearing a party hat. Tsukiko sat in front of a large cake, grinning from ear to ear. The same grin her mother gave him on occasions.

"There is no denying that she looks like me, like us."

Sakura hummed.

"Forgive me for not being a part of your lives when you both needed me most."

"There's nothing to forgive. You couldn't help not knowing." She offered her lips up to him and he gladly sampled them. He deepened the kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"As long as you'll accept me, I want to continue to be in your life, and Tsukiko's life."

Her eyes watered. "...Really?"

He touched foreheads with her. "Yes."

\/\/\/

Sakura woke first, to the sound of her bedroom door opening. As a parent, it was one of those things that always woke you, no matter how deep asleep you were. And she felt a band tighten around her waist. Only, that band was an arm.

"Kaa-chan?"

Sakura gently shushed her and whispered for Tsukiko to wait for her in the living room. The small girl ran out of the room, forgetting to close the door behind her. Sakura blew out a breath, relieved her daughter hadn't charged onto the bed like she usually did. She looked over at Byakuya.

As much as this serious yet caring man proclaimed his want to be in their lives, he definitely was not ready for the ups and downs, ins and outs of being a parent. She almost felt bad that he had gone from being one of Japan's most eligible bachelors, to dating, to being the father of a four-year-old child in the span of months. He missed most of the childhood development milestones and Tsukiko's important memories - her birth, learning how to walk, her first birthday, her first words, her first best friend, and her supposed first love.

Sakura slipped out of bed, naked, and reached for her robe in the rocking chair in the corner. As she tied it in place, Byakuya shifted in his sleep, restless movements. She leaned over and kissed his temple, pulling strands of his hair from between his lips. He calmed and she was able to sneak out to sit with her daughter. In the morning, especially on the weekends, Tsukiko liked to sit curled up in her lap, watching whatever early-morning cartoons were on. After a show or about an hour, she would lift her head and quietly ask for breakfast.

Tsukiko was not a clingy child necessarily, unless she was tired or upset. In the mornings, Sakura would set her in the chair with the throw blanket and go into the kitchen to get her cereal or make her a small omelette. And, without fail, she would toddle into the kitchen with the blanket and press herself against Sakura's side.

This morning, as Sakura made her an omelette, she wrapped her arms around Sakura's leg and asked, "Was that man my Tou-san?"

Sakura paused, looking down at her daughter's head. But she didn't look up. "Yes, he's you Tou-san, Iko-chan."

Her hold tightened. "He still here? Did he leave again?"

Sakura's touch was motherly and calming, combing her hair from her face. "No, he hasn't left yet. Maybe, after you eat breakfast, you can go see him in my bedroom."

"He still here?"

"Yes. Let's eat breakfast first, jelly bean."

"I not jelly bean."

Sakura chuckled and squeezed her with her free hand. "Well, you're my jelly bean."

\/\/\/

Byakuya woke to the sound of the sheets rustling and an empty space next to him. He reached an arm out in the hopes that he would feel the warm person he was missing. But to no avail. Then he heard a soft giggle. The bed shifted and he felt her press her supple lips against his, smiling. "Morning, sleepyhead," she whispered.

He hummed and pulled her down for a deeper kiss, tangling their tongues together. He wanted to pull her on top of her and let her ride him, like she had last night. But she pulled back all too soon.

"We can't. Tsukiko is up and she could come in at any minute."

"I will put pants on," he mumbled, still attempting to at least snuggle with her.

"Just come out when you're ready. I made some coffee, strong like you like it. And there's a toothbrush on the sink for you."

He cleared his throat. "What are you doing today?"

"Tsukiko is spending the day with Sachiko, Ino's daughter. So, after I drop her off, I'm free to hang with you."

He grunted as she pecked his lips once more and got up to exit the room. With a heaving sigh, he slid out of bed and slipped his boxers and black pants on before heading for the master bathroom. After using the toilet, he reached for the new toothbrush, supposedly for him alone. Then, a knock came at the door. He opened it, surprised to find Tsukiko standing on the other side, wearing a pale blue summer dress.

Their grey eyes stared at each other for a couple seconds. Here, they drank in each others features. Byakuya to note here how much more she looked like him, with the trademark Kuchiki brow furrow and grey eyes. But they way her face morphed into a grin before she spoke, made her, undoubtedly, Sakura's daughter. "Um… Ohayo. My name is Kuchiki Tsukiko."

"Nice to meet you, Tsukiko-san." Her eyes widened as the honorific he used and her cheeks flushed red. "My name is Kuchiki Byakuya."

At this, she looked at him again. "We have the same last name."

"Indeed."

She looked at the sink and smiled. "I brush teeth too?"

He hesitated and then nodded. She grabbed a short stool from by the door and moved it in front of the sink, reaching for her toothbrush. But then she watched him while he put toothpaste on his brush. She tried to do it herself, but couldn't squeeze out enough.

"Can you help me?"

"You… are having trouble?"

She nodded with a pout. "Can you help me? Kaa-chan always helps me."

"Tsukiko," Sakura scolded, finding her presenting her hygiene utensils to the larger man. "I told you not to bother him if he was in here."

"But I need to brush my teeth," she whined.

"We just had to wait."

"Sakura, it's fine," he said, glancing worriedly between his love interest and newfound daughter who was still pouting at her mouth for interrupting her. "I… can help."

She stared at him for a second before she chuckled. "No, I should do this. You're not ready for hygiene duty yet, trust me." When she noticed his somewhat hurt look, she leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Let's take it slow, okay."


	10. X - Petals of The Blossom

**X - Petals of The Blossom**

(slight lemon warning)

She had locked the door and sealed the room so no one would hear what was happening in the office. Renji had given them both odd looks as they walked into his office, but Byakuya told him to tend to training the subordinates. If his fukutaichou was as smart as he claimed to be, he would do as he was told and not attempt to interrupt them.

But, honestly, Byakuya shouldn't have even let her. It wasn't what a good, model captain did. He wasn't like Kyoraku. Or, at least the Kyoraku before he became Soutaichou. Byakuya didn't just sleep with women. He didn't do it period.

So, why did he have her bent of his desk, caging her in place with his hands braced on the surface? Her moans sounded so sweet and delicious to his ears. He loved the way she sighed his name and cried out when he hit her sweet spot.

She grabbed his hand and led it to touch and circle her swollen clit, making her gasp and falter in their rhythm. "Oh kami... right there... Byakuya..."

He pressed his face into her bare back, kissing her spine and leaving red marks on her neck. Her passage fluttered around him and her arms weakened on the desk. This was the second time she was going to fall apart since he feasted on her. With such a petite body, he was slightly larger than she expected and came almost instantly when he slid inside her.

Always.

No, this wasn't the first time he'd had her. He'd lost count after he told himself that he would never get enough of her. It wasn't so much the sex. It was a definite bonus.

It was her.

And he'd only realized this today when she came to visit him at his division.

After she cried out her orgasm and after he spilled himself inside her, he gather her in his lap. She snuggled in his embrace, clutching the sides of his captain's jacket. This action was new for them. He knew she had feelings for him and he suspected she knew the other way around.

But neither had admitted anything to the other. He wasn't sure how to and she wasn't going to say or do anything without confirmation from him.

"Byakuya?"

He looked down at her.

She hesitated, her gaze wide, almost innocent-like. Her hand slid up to cup his cheek and he grabbed her wrist to kiss her palm, keeping her gaze. Then she shifted to kiss him. Their tongues petted and stroked against each other while their hands did the same. His hand moved to cup her face. He wanted to devour her. He wanted all of her.

She panted while his lips trailed down her neck, leaving more marks on her neck and shoulders.

"Stop giving me hickies," she whispered. But her protest turned into a moan as his fingers pinched a nipple, rolling it.

He _would_ mark her as his, keep other men from wanting her. His cock started to harden again, pressing against her soft stomach. She shifted her hips forward to rub against him.

"Please... Byakuya..." she sighed in his ear.

Yes, he would make her his until the end of time.

\/\/\/

He woke to the sounds of her shifting. When he opened his eyes, she was sliding her haori on over her bare skin, breast bindings in a heap next to her feet. He sat up from the futon. "Sakura."

She looked over at him, smiling and then winking. "Don't worry. I'll sneak out the back door. Your guards won't even know it was me."

He grabbed her wrist.

She paused before her smile turned sad, shaking her head. "You know I can't stay."

"I am the Head of this Clan. I want you here, with me."

Her eyes were glassy as she touched his face lovingly. "Byakuya, your clan won't allow you to have me as anything more than a passing lover. It's the law, right? You've already broken it twice. I won't let you break it again just for me."

"It is my decision to make."

"I won't let you make this decision." She reached up on her toes to taste his lips once more. He tried to hold onto her, but she slipped from his grasp. She gathered her bindings and sandals, opening the bedroom door. He saw a tear slip down her cheek when she glanced back at him before she disappeared in a cloud of pink smoke.

"I love you," she had whispered.

\/\/\/

The first time they had been intimate, he had requested a healer from the Fourth Division for some of his guards. Hollows had appeared suddenly across the Estate while he was in his Division. By the time he arrived on the scene, the creatures had been dealt with but some of his guards had been injured since the Hollows had been harder to deal with. The Kuchiki healers would have been fine, if they were able to work faster.

Admittedly, he had requested Sakura specifically.

She arrived within the hour, addressing him and his grandfather respectfully. Her hair tumbled down her back in waves. When she went to the healers' wing, she tied it up in a bun and set to work. Ginrei had left but Byakuya stayed to oversee her work. Of course, her gentle chakra, touch, and kind personality swayed the men she healed. Even his tough and stoic general, Meiyo, seemed to be stumped by the smile she graced him with.

But, something inside Byakuya was bothered by this. He told himself that it was the fact he didn't want a woman to distract his guards. Each man who joined the Kuchiki Guard took a oath to devote their lives to their position; they could not sleep with anyone and were not permitted to have families. Of course, having a young, beautiful woman giving them attention was bound to distract them.

Byakuya paused.

Beautiful?

He supposed. He could not deny that Haruno Sakura was a woman with beauty, unique with her pink hair and emerald eyes. And even some of his own men from his division who had been healed by her were smitten.

He frowned.

What was so appealing about her?

She finished and turned to face him, smiling softly at him. He stared and then told her to follow him. He shared a pot of green tea with her, an offering for her work for his Estate guards. He wasn't planning to speak with her, only to sit quietly in her presence so he could figure her out. What was her motive for being so kind?

She spoke first, mentioning how beautiful she found the Estate. Then, she blushed softly. "To be honest, I didn't realize you were so wealthy. Of course, I should have with your personality and way of talking." A sip of her tea. "But it must be so lonely here. Sure, you have all these other people. And, even Rukia-san and Abarai-kun. But... who do you share your free time with?"

His brows furrowed.

She blushed, her hands tucking her hair behind her ear before touching the scar on her neck. "Sorry. Sometimes I'm not aware of what I'm saying."

After they finished their tea, he walked her towards one of the exits. When they reached there, she turned to smile at him, the wind blowing her hair around. "Thank you for the tea, Kuchiki-san. It was very kind of you. I didn't know you had it in you."

He wasn't sure why he wasn't offended by her poking fun at him, but he suddenly had an urge to kiss her. But the guards were around. He grabbed her wrist and flashed away. In his private office, he pushed her against the wall and kissed her. When he pulled away, his eyes were wide and so were hers. Both were surprised by his actions.

But she reached up and pressed her lips against his, soft. Byakuya was frozen, struck by his actions. When she pulled back, he had grabbed her wrist tightly, ready to tell her not to touch his person, to never attempt to kiss him again. But he was kissing her again. When he thought about that day, he wasn't sure how they got to a place of removing their clothes and having intercourse, but they did.

Afterwards, she got dressed quickly and ran out.

\/\/\/

The second time, he had been out in the fields and by the streams of Rukongai, meditating and thinking. And then he heard someone, practicing. He walked through the trees, reiatsu hidden, and found her practicing stances on the river. She wore black, skin-tight shorts and her white breast bindings. He was surprised by her attire, or lack thereof. Even more so, he was surprised by the scars on her body.

He hadn't noticed last time.

And then a kunai pierced the tree next to his head. He didn't flinch, nor was he surprised by it. But he was interested in the fact that he had barely released his reiatsu and she had reacted.

"Why are you here, Kuchiki-taichou?" she asked quietly, still standing on the water.

He emerged from the trees, assessing her. Byakuya really didn't have an answer as to why he was there, specifically, why he hadn't continued walking after he noticed her. She flashed onto the grass before him, zanpakuto in hand. She drew her sword, pointing it at him. He considered how this spar would turn out and drew his sword as well.

"No Bankai, no Kido" she said firmly.

He hummed. She attacked first, like he expected her to. But he had to remember throughout the sparring that she was trained primarily in another way of fighting. She used her fists and feet to fight him. But when he released his Senbonzakura, she had a harder time landing blows on him.

Senbonzakura was not keen on attacking her however. She was mid-air and he could have landed a harsh blow. It was his aim; frustrated by what they had done before as he saw it was a sign of weakness. But his zanpakuto refused and landed only a couple shallow slices on her side. She flashed across from him, a curious look on his face. "Pulling your punches?"

But he had no response.

She released her shikai, the blade splitting into two white Chinese dragons, one with blue fur, the other with red. It seemed that Senbonzakura and Intoyo no Ryu were evenly matched, neither landing any damage on the wielder.

And then she surprised him.

She managed to flash between the fighting and land within his inner safety zone, a hand on his chest. Everything around them had stopped. The dragons stood in the grass and the petals of Senbonzakura fell around them. She didn't attack, nor back away. But her eyes looked up at him, gentle.

He wanted grab her by the arms and demand to know what she had done to him. Why had he felt this uneasiness inside of him? Kuchiki Byakuya, above all else, hated being confused. As a man who was both a captain of the Sixth Division and 28th Head of the Kuchiki Clan, he couldn't afford to be confused. Confusion was uncertainty and, as a Kuchiki man, he could never be uncertain.

Her hands slipped beneath his haori and he should have stopped her. But his hands moved on their own, betraying him as he loosened her bindings. There, in the grass by the stream, he had her again.

\/\/\/

The Senkaimon closed behind her, the little black Jigokucho fluttering around her before going back into the glowing doors.

It had been a couple days since she left Byakuya, confessing her feelings. She had never intended to confess her feelings. And it caused such a disruption inside her. It felt only right to come here again.

On one of her missions to the Material World, she had completed this mission and then come to the forest. Naruto was there, at the very tree they died at. She wasn't sure how he knew, but he did. And he carved her name and Sasuke's name into the bark. For as long as it had been, the inscription was still there. And the little shrine too, now covered in moss and weeds. She was gentle in removed the weeds and cobwebs, placing a couple flowers in offering before it.

She could still remember her last day, vividly. And the nightmares had stopped. Thankfully.

Next, she traveled to Konohagakure.

Sakura wasn't sure what she expected when she came.

She had already known about Naruto being with Hinata and them having a son. Now, they also had a daughter. She saw him sitting in the Hokage office and noticed him take pause and hold a picture frame. It was their own team photo, from when they were genin. And, when Sasuke had been allowed back into the village, they did a retake of the photo. Naruto squeezed his eyes closed and pressed the frame against his chest, tilting his head back.

But then Shikamaru came into the office. The Nara genius said nothing about what Naruto was doing. And the blonde seemed undeterred by his actions, gently place the frame back on his desk.

Then, she went to find Kakashi. But he was living with another woman, his mask gone in the safety of their home. And the woman was pregnant. Not far along, but they were already putting the nursery together. And Sai and Ino were also pregnant again, their third child on the way.

Sakura stood on top of the Hokage heads and looked over the village. Everyone had moved on. Everyone was doing well. She paused as she watched the setting sun. Had she not also moved on? What exactly had she wanted by coming here? Was she expecting them to still be mourning her and Sasuke? Was she still expecting Kakashi to be visiting her grave like he used to visit the Memorial Stone when she was alive?

Sakura slowly sat on the bench, feeling out of place in her shihakusho and zanpakuto, when she should have been wearing her jonin vest, headband, and kunai holster.

A tear dripping down her cheek. She wanted to have a reason to still escape to here; she wanted a reason to not feel for Kuchiki Byakuya. What was she supposed to do now?


	11. XI - Speak of the Devil and

**XI - Speak of the Devil and...**

No one had known, of course. They didn't want people to know.

So, there was no ulterior motive when Kyoraku assigned Sakura as the accompanying medic for him and his men to the Material World. There had been an influx of Hollows in his jurisdiction and they needed to investigate what was drawing them in. Considering what had happened in the past with this type of situation, a skilled medic was needed to accompany all teams. Isane had volunteered her third seat and Urahara had confirmed that Yoruichi would rendezvous with them.

Byakuya had not seen the pink-haired woman in almost ten months, since the night she left him with a declaration of love her parting words.

"I trust you can handle healing any major wounds on these men, should something happen," Kyoraku said, smiling at the young woman. "Kotetsu-taichou recommended you when I requested she send someone skilled. She had nothing but good things to say about you."

"Then, allow me to live up to the kind words of my taichou," she said, touching a hand to her heart. "I understand that my priority on this mission is the safety and well-being of this team."

"And they will protect you should a battle ensue. You are to remain away from the battlefield should that happen."

"I understand."

Byakuya knew her though. She was well known across Seireitei for her medical prowess in the medical station. And, she was also known for entering the battlefield when she wasn't supposed to. When he question Isane about her actions, she explained that while Sakura had been a medic before, she played both roles, as medic and fighter.

When the meeting was over, he tried to corner her, speak with her. But she disappeared again. He frowned. Did she want him to chase after her like this? Kuchiki Byakuya did not give chase to any woman. Hisana had been the one exception. He was not going to do it again.

They met the next day at the Senkaimon with the team, neither acknowledging the other's presence. His men had noticed, but wisely said nothing. He had noticed a flicker of surprise in her emerald eyes when he addressed them, but said nothing as well. How long would she keep her silence towards him? She was always vocal about the things that bothered her, especially regarding his actions. In their private moments, after sating their desire, sometimes she would roll over and start conversations with him. He indulged her because he was still trying to figure out her mind. But, sometimes, she would complain about something he said or didn't say, something he did or didn't do.

In the Material World, they set up watch posts. Yoruichi had rendezvoused with them, informing him on what had been going down. But, without fail, she singled Sakura out with a grin. "And who are you, my pink-haired friend?"

"Haruno Sakura."

"I like your tekko. They suit you. Shihouin Yoruichi. But you can call me by my first name, cutie." She winked.

"Yoruichi," he warned.

"What? You want this little flower?"

"I'm not little," she argued.

"You are compared to me. And so young."

"She is the medic accompanying this team," he interrupted. "Focus on the mission."

"Oh? Well, sit back and watch the professionals at work," she told Sakura.

And, to his surprise, Sakura merely agreed and stepped back. Who was this woman? The Sakura he knew would have ranted and argued back. She would have given Yoruichi a piece of her mind regarding her strength.

Honestly, he should have known better.

They split up. Sakura was to go with two members of his five-man team and scout. But Yoruichi shook her head. "You're sending them all off to their deaths without one of us with them."

"I think we can handle ourselves fine," Sakura said immediately, the fire in her eyes. "No one is allowed to die on my watch."

"You may think your medical skills are good. But you've never been in a battlefield and fought a battle like these."

Sakura's gaze was dark at the woman's assumptions, her chakra darkening as well. But she turned her back to them. "We'll be fine. Inumuta, Meiji, let's go." And she took off. The men glanced at their captain before following after.

He and the rest of his men went in the opposite direction while Yoruichi went off by herself. That first night remained uneventful except for a soul burial of a scared child soul. Sakura was the one to do it. Byakuya overheard his men whispering about how kind and loving she had been with the child, even hugging her as she cried. Beyond Sakura, Byakuya did not often do soul burials anymore; they weren't within his purview when he had to run a division. It had been a long while since he encountered a scared soul, a child at that. He was somewhat surprised by her handling of the soul burial as many Shinigami stationed here were not ones to offer such care before sending them off.

It was the second night when everything happened.

They had been split again - Sakura, Inumuta, and Meiji off in one direction, Byakuya and Kazu in another direction. He was unsure of where Yoruichi was actually scouting.

He had no idea that things would turn out this way.

Three hours into their patrol, there was an explosion near where the three were. Then, he saw a red-furred, white scaled dragon arc into the sky. Yoruichi flashed next to them. "What's going on over there?"

"That's Haruno, taichou," Kazu said. "That's her zanpakuto."

" _That's_ her zanpakuto?" Yoruichi asked, brows raised.

"Well, it's part of it. The other half is probably healing Inumuta and Meiji. If she's fighting, then something happened.

"Let's go," Byakuya declared.

\/\/\/

There were too many.

They just kept coming.

The red-furred dragon, Kaji, stood above her, his claws on either side of her while the rest of his body coiled around them. Her blue-furred dragon, Ryu, stayed curled around Inumuta and Meiji, creating a glowing, blue healing barrier around them.

She stood face-to-face with the person who seemed to be orchestrating this whole thing. He hadn't said a word since the attack started, cutting down the other two when they weren't paying attention. His black clothes were skin-tight, a white, featureless mask over his face. There were slits for eyes and two holes for his nose. But nothing else. At first, she thought it was Haku, the companion of Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist. But it wasn't. The boy's hair had been brown; this man had black hair pulled back into a high ponytail.

Something about him seemed familiar to her. Something about his technique struck a nostalgic chord in her as they crossed blades and Kaji kept the Hollow's off her back.

And, finally, it was two things, simultaneously, that made her realize.

As he pushed her back, she noticed his katana, how it had no hilt and the gleam of the moonlight off of it. And then he formed hand signs, blowing a fireball at her.

She flashed out of the way, but didn't attack. "Sasuke?" she asked quietly, the long forgotten void reforming in her heart.

He only turned to look at her.

"Sasuke-kun... is that really you?"

He attacked again and again, unrelenting. She finally managed to push him back with Kaji firing his own fireball at him.

"Sasuke, stop. It's me, Sakura. Please, remember."

"I do remember," he said. "I remember you letting me _die_ and letting them drag me into Hell."

"I could do anything."

"You just had to grab my hand."

"I couldn't. My hand went right through yours."

"Lies," he shouted. He was on her in an instant, hand gripping her throat while he pressed her against the side of a building. His mask was gone, his Sharingan spinning. "You could have come to Hell with me. We both know it's where you should have gone anyway."

"Sasuke... please..." she choked out, scratching at his hand.

He released her suddenly and flipped back. Both Byakuya and Yoruichi stood in front of her. Kazu knelt next to her, offering his assistance. "Go help the others," the woman said. "We'll take it from here."

"You have friends now doing the fighting for you? How laughable," Sasuke mocked. "You really should have come to Hell; at least you'd still know how to fight then."

"Sorry, we'll have to send you back alone."

"No," she shouted and swung the handle of her zanpakuto. Kaji fired another fireball at him and, as he jumped away, she flashed behind him. He wasn't expected her speed, but he did expect her punch, raising his arms in defense. He plummeted into the road, Sakura right behind. But she only punched the asphalt, creating a crater.

"You've gotten quicker, Sakura. Though, I can't say I approve of these flashy attacks you've been using. It isn't the _shinobi_ way."

"Haruno," Yoruichi yelled.

"This is _my_ fight," she barked back.

"You were given an order," Byakuya said.

Sasuke was behind her, gripping her throat while pressing his blade just under his hand. "She's not going anywhere. What she's not telling you is that we used to be alive together, but she got us killed."

"It wasn't my fault," she tried, gasping.

"Of course it was." He ran his katana through her abdomen from behind, making she scream. Byakuya attacked first. But Sasuke was quicker, teleporting out of the way. He stabbed her again, through the shoulder. "You were _sure_ they hadn't followed us. And then they ambushed us out of nowhere while we made camp." Another stab, through her thigh. Yoruichi tried to grab him but they disappeared in a puff of smoke, appearing behind Kazu.

"You made Naruto attempt to kill himself. His life would have been on your hands. I've seen him. All he does is wallow in misery. It's been _years_ , Sakura. I could be there with him."

"It wasn't my fault," she screamed, the diamond on her forehead glowing. Purple tendrils spread out towards his temples and down her face. And then they were gone. The others only saw flashes of them as they clashed blades. Fireballs were fired, objects thrown through the air, and various jutsu used. The Hollows thinned as Kazu struck them down.

Sakura threw her zanpakuto down and attacked with jutsu and her fists, the roads and buildings getting destroyed from her immense strength without any chakra blockers in place. She landed a few good hits, slamming him into the side of a building, and one had broken his arm. But he healed, somehow.

Byakuya and Yoruichi tried to intervene, attacking with their Kido, his zanpakuto and her Shunko. They only attacked when Sasuke managed to knock her away. And every time she got up, the void in her heart widened. What had happened to him?

Sasuke evaded Byakuya's Senbonzakura. Sakura saw it and raised her own blade in defense. Ryu had finally finished healing and fired a lightning bolt at him. But he deflected it and attacked her. Yoruichi interfered as he punched her in the stomach, flinging her through a building.

This was not the Sasuke she knew. That wasn't true. This was like the revenge-driven Sasuke, so much hatred bubbling inside of him. She grunted as she tried to move, struggling. His punch had ruptured some of her organs. But her Yin Release was still active, her healing chakra flowing. She dove to the side as a snake aimed for her face, fangs bared.

"You still have the contract."

"Of course," he smirked. "Sounds like you don't."

A snake sunk its fangs into her ankle. She tried to neutralize the snake before it could inject her with the poison, but it was too late. Sakura dropped down to her knee, using her chakra to stop the spread of the poison. Sasuke aimed a charge of lightning through the ground at her. She flashed away but he was already there, kicking her in the face away. Byakuya caught her, sliding back on his feet from the impact. But she elbowed herself away from him, falling forward. Yoruichi kept Sasuke occupied. Sakura glared up at him. "Stay out of this, both of you."

But he only stared at her.

The anger suddenly welled up in her and she shot up on her good leg to shove him, though he didn't move. "This is _your_ fault this is happening. If you had just been quicker that day, he could have been saved. I hate you."

But as soon as she voiced the words, she slapped a hand over her mouth. She looked away, lowering her injured leg. Byakuya flashed away, their blades creating sparks. Sakura could only watched detached as Sasuke smirked, his Rinnegan activated. Byakuya swung down, and, almost in slow motion, he had switched places with Yoruichi. The Sixth captain could not move his blade fast enough to avoid her and the Goddess of Flashstep could not evade quick enough. He sliced her down across the abdomen, blood splattering everywhere. She had to do this. No, she was never as strong or as skilled as Sasuke and Naruto had been. But his anger was directed at her. And she had to resolve this.

Sasuke smirked. "Stupid Shinigami."

Byakuya and Yoruichi flashed away, and Sakura flash in front of them. "Stay out of this. I won't tell you again."

"There's no way you can handle him if we can't," Yoruichi argued, pressing a hand against her wound.

Sakura looked over at Byakuya, her emerald eyes pleading with him. "You understand the concept of fighting for your pride, right? Then, you know I have to handle this."

"He will kill you."

"I am and have always been a _shinobi_ ," she said firmly. "I cannot allow my teammate to keep rampaging like this."

Byakuya held Yoruichi back as Sasuke and Sakura squared up. She had her zanpakuto handle in her hand again, the tattoos of the dragon wrapped around her forearms. "Let's finish this, Sasuke."

He smirked. "A fight to the death? I thought only Naruto and I did that."

Her hold tightened.

Now, he frowned. "Yes, let's finish this."

Sakura had done all that she could - activating her Bankai Andawarudo: Ryu to Kaji, using her chakra, and even Kido. But once her Yin Release deactivated, it was the end. Sasuke had trapped her teammates in a fiery cage to keep them from interfering as he trapped Sakura in his Tsukuyomi. She screamed in agony, trapped for only seconds. But for her, it had been days. She dropped to her knees, gasping for air, her limbs unresponsive.

Sasuke hoisted her up by the front of her haori and pressed her back against his chest, blade pointed at her throat. She couldn't fight him, couldn't resist. She was out of options. "I'll drag you with me into the deepest pits of Hell after we watch your companions perish in my flames. No one will be able to save you. I'll take immense satisfaction out of hearing your screams of pain and anguish."

She heard Kazu's screams as the black flames caught the sleeve of his haori. As Inumuta and Meiji tried to help him, Sakura slowly lifted her head, connecting her gaze with Byakuya's. He was staring at her, brows furrowed in his concerned way. There was only one thing she could do, one last ace up her sleeve to stop his rampage. She would only have seconds to get this right.

Tears slipped down her cheeks and she could see Byakuya's eyes widen. "I'm sorry," she said.

She slapped a hand of white chakra on Sasuke's hand, scrambling the nerve responses there. In almost the same second, she raised her zanpakuto and ran in through her chest, aiming for his heart.

Byakuya didn't know. He didn't know it was going to be like this.

Sakura pulled the blade free and Sasuke grunted behind her, his hold loosening around her throat. "Thank you," he whispered.

They both collapsed.

\/\/\/

As soon as they hit the ground, the fire disappeared and he ran for her. She didn't respond as he picked her up in his arms, her body limp. He looked to Inumuta, ordering him to open the Senkaimon. They didn't have time to wait for approval from Soul Society to pass through.

"But, taichou-"

"Now," he barked.

The man did as he commanded and Byakuya ran through, ignoring their questioning looks. Her head lolled against his shoulder as he sprinted through the Dangai. He couldn't lose her. This couldn't be the end. He wouldn't let it be the end.

"...Byakuya...?"

He glanced down to see her eyes half open, glazed.

"I... I'm sorry," she whispered around a choke. "I shouldn't have left... that night."

"Save your energy." He tried to push himself faster.

"I love... you. I don't hate you. I never did."

He had to keep going. He wouldn't stop until he could safely pass her over to Kotetsu. Even using his Flash Step was not getting him there any quicker.

"Do you love me too?" Her hand was shaky as she reached to touch blooded fingers to his cheek. "Please... tell me."

"I will."

"I'm sorry." Her voice broke as blood lined her lips and dribbled from the corner. "I'm sorry I did this... to us."

And then she went limp in his arms.

* * *

 _...Sakura..._

 _...Sakura..._

 _...Wake up..._

Her eyes popped open, black warping space around her. Her body felt weighless, unreal. Her shihakusho was gone, leaving her naked and bare, pink hair floating around her.

Sasuke floated in front of her, upside down. Instead of the twisted snarl that had warped his face in their battle, it was serene. The frown was gone from his face and his lips held an almost kind smirk.

"Awake?" he asked.

She blinked. "Where are we?"

"The space in between spaces."

"We're... dead?"

"Ironic, huh?"

Her eyes watered. "Sasuke-kun... I'm so sorry." Her voice broke as her throat tightened. "You were right; I should have done more back in the forest. I should have tried harder to take you hand. I... I should have checked harder for those enemies."

 _...Sakura..._

Sasuke's smirk deepened, even upside down, and he tapped her forehead with two fingers. Her eyes widened and her hand touched the spot. "It's fine, Sakura. I've been in Hell for too long. The things that I had seen of Konohagakure after we died got warped because of Hell." His eyes softened. "I know you couldn't take my hand when I got dragged in. I know Naruto is doing better, as is Kakashi. I don't blame you for what happened."

 _...Sakura..._

Her hand reached out to touch his cheek and he closed his eyes.

"It's been awhile, since someone touched me so gently."

Her heart seized. "Oh, Sasuke…"

 _Sakura!_

She looked around, it dawning on her that it wasn't Sasuke calling her name. "Do you hear that?"

He hummed. "It seems you're moving on."

"To the next life?"

He shrugged. "Who knows?" He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, thanking her for freeing him. He tapped her forehead again. "Again, next time."

 _Sakura!_


	12. XII - Unfaithful Lies

**XII - Unfaithful Lies**

"What are you doing here, Byakuya-kun?" she asked as she ambled down the porch stairs towards the gate. "My husband isn't home right now."

He only looked over at her as she stood in front of the gate, his gaze intense.

She looked around, up and down the street lest one of their neighbors happen to see. "I shouldn't let you in. Someone might… say something."

"It's urgent."

"I'm sure it can wait until he come home later."

His brows furrowed. "Do you wish for us to speak in front of him about how the child in your womb right now is not his?"

She frowned. "Why are you here?"

He sighed quietly.

"I can't leave him."

"Let's talk inside."

"I don't want to talk about this at all."

He reached through the gate and took her hand. "I know what's happening, Sakura. Can you really expect me to stand by while he beats you?"

She stared at him before unlocking the gate with her key. "Come in."

\/\/\/

When they were in high school, Sakura had shyly asked Byakuya out. Soon after, they started dating seriously. They had even started university together, going to Tokyo University. But, the army called and demanded that he serve with North Korea becoming more active in their military threats. If he didn't serve his mandatory two years, he would be jailed for five years. He had no choice and promised his girlfriend that he would write her when he could and visit her when he was allowed.

And they made him serve another two years because he had served so well. In that time, he wasn't given the opportunity to leave the base often. When he did, he would visit his mother and grandfather. His father had died when he was young and, while he grandfather ran the company, he was expected to take over once his service was over. However, during this time, he had been unable to contact his girlfriend. All his letters to her had been returned, her home was occupied now by another family, and she had changed her phone number. He found it bizarre and strange that the woman he had come to develop strong feelings for had suddenly abandoned him.

When he finally finished his service, he hired a private eye to find the whereabouts of Haruno Sakura. Only she was now Uchiha Sakura.

And, apparently, she wasn't oblivious to the man who seemed to be tracking and following her. He revealed to her that someone, a special someone, had been looking for her. Over a cup of coffee, she divulged what had happened not even a year after him leaving.

In the first couple of months, they had been sending letters back and forth with no problem. But then her mother fell ill and had to be hospitalized. With the piling medical bills, she and her father had to move in with a relative, closer to his office so he would work longer hours. Because of the need to move quickly and the sudden need to take care of her mother, she'd forgotten to let Byakuya know of her change in address. They'd also had to give up their phone plans as they could no longer afford it. Once she finally had a moment to send a letter to Byakuya a letter detailing what had happened, the letter had bounced back. Of course, she had assumed something had happened to him and prepared herself for a life of solitude.

But Uchiha Sasuke had seen her while passing through the university quad and wanted her. He wanted her because she was beautiful and would be a nice addition to his clan. But only for the publicity. He had no interest in her intimately. They married within a year of them meeting, having a large and public wedding. She had tried leaving so many time, but they had forced her to sign a prenup. It stipulated that if she attempted to leave or divorce Sasuke, they would have her father fired from his job and would make sure he never found a job anywhere. They'd also threatened to kick her mother out of the hospital, even though she was terminally ill. It also stipulated that she would have to move out of Tokyo and could not reside in any town that any of the branch families may reside in.

She hadn't wanted to sign the prenup, but she had only been thinking of what her parents would gain from them being in the marriage.

The Uchiha Clan merely wanted her for her genes. They had inbred so often, especially in the lower branches, that problems were starting to arise with deformities and developmental issues. And while it would have made more sense for the youngest Uchiha to just marry another wealthy girl - because he and Itachi had always received omiai - the Clan needed the publicity from, essentially, royalty, marrying a commoner.

So, when the private investigator finally returned and retold the story, of course Byakuya was heartbroken. He managed to set up a private meeting with her at mutual friend's house and confessed that he was still in love with her. If she really wanted to leave, he would help her divorce him so she could be with him. First, he had to inherit the company and start making connections.

In that time, whenever Sasuke wasn't home - which was quite often - Byakuya was at her house, making love to her, fucking her, letting her ride him on every possible surface. A couple times, she'd snuck into his office in disguise to let him bend her over his desk and fuck her like there was no tomorrow. It didn't escape her the thrill she found from sneaking around. But, that thrill was sometimes tempered by the thought of how Sasuke would react if her infidelity ever came to light.

Because she was certainly cheating on her husband and committing adultery.

And, of course, she had gotten pregnant. Everyone was celebrating the fact that the main branch would be welcoming a new addition to the Clan. But Byakuya wanted her out of the Compound before she gave birth. They'd gone to see a doctor a month ago, someone who he could trust not to spill to the public, and confirmed that the fetus belonged to Byakuya.

Beyond the other legal issues that would arise if she left after she gave birth, the youngest Uchiha was abusive to her. One of the time he'd come to see her, he had noticed a bruise that had formed on her thigh and, on another occasion, had noticed fist shaped bruises on her back. The final straw was when he saw the faint outline of a hand around her neck. She tried to reason that he didn't understand relationships and was trying her best to keep him stable.

His brother, Uchiha Itachi often visited her when Sasuke wasn't around or was away on extended trips. He would take her to parks or out for meals. Sometimes, he would come to the house and make dinner for her, especially as her stomach grew. She liked Itachi because he was kind to her and was one of the few people, if the only person, who was kind to her.

However, during one of their shared dinners in the home, he asked her, "Is my otouto the father of your child?"

Her hand paused, food halfway to her mouth. His face gave nothing away, whether he would tell on her if she said yes, or call her a liar if she said no. So, she gave no answer, eating the soup he made in silence.

But Itachi still had more to say. "If it's not his, I won't say anything, Sakura-san. Please know that I am here for you; I'm on your side."

\/\/\/

"I spoke with Itachi," Byakuya said.

She frowned as she set a cup of tea before him and sat sat down in the arm chair. "Why?"

"Itachi is a rebel within his own family. His brother basically idolizes him but for the wrong reasons. He agrees with me that Sasuke can't be changed."

Sakura looked down at her lap, or what she could see of her lap around her stomach. "He doesn't know that," she said softly.

Byakuya gave her a hard look over the rim of his cup. "Sakura."

"I know I can help him. I mean… I don't know exactly what he needs to get better but I know I could help somehow. Just give me another month."

"In another month, you will have given birth. I don't want you in this house when it happens." He stood and went into the coat closet. From it, he pulled out an envelope and handed it to her before sitting again.

"What's this?"

"I managed to switch your mother over to the doctor who oversees most my family. Also, I secured an interview for your father with a department in my company. The position will give him a higher income, which could help with your mother's medical bills."

She gave him a hesitant look. "When you saw interview…"

"I will have no influence over this. In fact, the chair of the department has no idea that I was the one to submit your father's application. Everything that happens will be based on your father's ability to navigate the interview process."

She pulled out some of the papers and her eyes widened. "Byakuya… what is this receipt…?"

"I could not move your mother without paying off the bills. While the Uchiha Clan had told you they would pay for the bills, it seems they were only doing the bare minimum. I didn't want alert your father to the discrepancies and worry him."

"Y… You did all this?"

He hummed.

"So, all that's left…"

"You need to leave with me." He reached over to rest a hand on her belly. The babe shifted inside her womb, moving towards his warmth. "Itachi will help us."

"How?"

"He had planned to expose the Clan for what it had been doing. Apparently, marrying you was the last straw."

"He's always been kind to me, when their parents weren't and when Sasuke wasn't here." Often, she had lunches or gatherings with their parents - Mikoto and Fugaku. Mikoto wasn't necessarily terrible to her. But Fugaku had no real regard for her or her wellbeing. Itachi was often the one to speak up for her when she couldn't and Sasuke wouldn't.

"Itachi also knows about the abuse. Apparently something Sasuke told him made him ask and he confirmed it."

Her hands shook as she folded up the papers and put them back in the envelope. "I'm scared, Byakuya. What if he doesn't let me go?"

"He'll let you go. Itachi found a loophole in the contract they made you sign when you got married. We will fight them once you're safe." He took her hands. "I'm going to protect you, and our child. I won't ever let you go again."

"Promise?" A tear fell.

"Yes."

\/\/\/

A week later, Byakuya had let her know that everything was ready. All she needed to do was pack her bags and leave.

Itachi was coming to stay the night with her. Sasuke wasn't expected home for another couple of nights and, when he returned, she would be gone. So, she made them dinner. He was always appreciative of the food she made and asked about the progression of her pregnancy. She had even allowed him to feel the babe move around. Something about the way he touched her belly made both her and the baby stop and feel his aura. It was strong and confident, reassuring.

He hummed and gave her a soft smile. "He is lucky. This child is strong."

"How do you know?"

But he didn't answer.

After dinner, he revealed that he had bought her favorite ice cream for her - birthday cake with a host of rainbow sprinkles. She hugged him tightly before snatching the delicious treat away and camping out on the couch with it. He only chuckled and joined her with his own cup of chocolate ice cream.

After finishing, she curled up on the couch, feeling sleep take over her. She heard Itachi try to tell her to go to bed. But she didn't have the energy to even say no. But, in her last moments of awareness, she felt him drape a blanket over.

"Sakura, wake up."

She blinked, confused. "Wha…"

"Sasuke's home." His statement was punctuated by the slam of the front door. And then Itachi was gone. Perhaps he meant to hide as Itachi was not allowed over when Sasuke wasn't around.

"Sakura," Sasuke slurred from the front hall.

Oh, gods above, he was drunk. Why was he even home?  
She sat up on the couch, rubbing her eyes. "I'm in the living room, Sasuke-kun."

He stumbled into the living room, gripping the corner of the entryway. In the light of the lamp, his black orbs were glassy and unfocused as he looked at her. His brows furrowed. "Why aren't you in bed?"

"I fell asleep on the couch after eating dinner."

He grunted and moved to plop himself in the arm chair.

"You're home early," she said softly, pulling the blanket around her shoulders and over her stomach.

He cracked an eye open at her. "And?"

"Well, you said you wouldn't be home for two weeks."

"So what? Are you hiding someone here?"

"What? No, Sasuke-kun. I just didn't expect you to come home early."

He shot to his feet, surprisingly steady for someone so inebriated. "You've had someone here, haven't you?"

Her hands flew to her stomach. "What are you talking about?"

"You have two ice cream cups on the coffee table. Who the fuck was here?"

Oh, shit. Itachi must've forgotten in his rush to hide. "Ino-chan was over. She wanted to visit since I hadn't seen her in a while."

"Liar," he shouted, backhanding her. She fell off the couch, quickly using her hand to brace herself and cushion the fall. But Sasuke was standing over her in a second, glaring down at her. "You've had Itachi over here. I know you have. I know he's here whenever I'm not. You've been sleeping with him."

"Please, Sasuke, stop."

"What does he have that I don't?" he screamed. "He takes our parents' attention and now he's taken my wife. I bet that bastard of a child in your womb isn't even mine, is it?"

Tears began to fall now as she tried to scoot from underneath him. "Please…"

"All I wanted to make you happy. I gave you money and luxury and took care of your fucking parents. What more do I have to give?" He grabbed the lamp from the side table, his fingers turning white from his grip on the piece of furniture. Now his face became blank, his eyes dead. "If Itachi wants you for himself, he can take your cold corpse."

She screamed and she curled up on the floor, ready for the beating to come. But she heard a yell, a heavy thump, and something breaking. When she risked a peek, Itachi was lifting himself off of Sasuke, who laid limp and quiet on the floor. "I-I-Itachi?"

He looked over at her and helped her sit up, checking her face. She hissed as he touched her cheek. "We need to go."

"Now?"

"He's not going to be happy when he wakes up, much less willing to listen to reason if he is suspecting me of being with you." He helped her stand and guided her towards the stairs. "Go pack the rest of your stuff up. I'll handle him."

\/\/\/

Byakuya waited in the garage for Itachi to pull his car in and park in an empty parking spot. He immediately moved to help Sakura out of the car, holding her to him. "What happened?"

"Otouto came home early and attempted to kill her," Itachi said, getting out and opening the trunk. "I had to get her out."

"And your brother?"

"Don't worry about him." He pulled out a envelope and pulled out pictures of Sasuke and a red-headed woman with glasses in a hotel woman. "Our friend, Uzumaki Naruto has been doing a bit of spying for me. He found out Sasuke has been cheating on Sakura with a distant cousin of his, name Karin. He's pretty sure they've been sleeping together since before the marriage. Because of this, he's violated his part of the contract. This is the loophole you needed, Sakura-san."

"So, what happens now?" she asked quietly from the safety of Byakuya's arms.

"Once you file for divorce, they'll demand for a paternity test of the child. Obviously, the test will show that you've been unfaithful. But, since we can get records of the times that he has and hasn't left the military station and we can testify to when you two came into contact again, we can prove that he was unfaithful before you. Though, we will have to prove that you knew about the infidelity before and just couldn't say anything because of pressure from the family."

She nodded. "Thank you, Itachi-san."

He gave a soft smile. "You're welcome. I hope, once things calm down, we can remain in contact."

She smiled back. "I would like that."

\/\/\/

"Okaa-san?"

Mebuki looked up, surprised to see her only daughter standing in the doorway. "Oh, Sakura-chan. It's been a while. I've been trying to get in contact with you for a while. They had me moved to a different hospital. Well, as you can tell."

Sakura moved to sit next to her. "Yeah, that's why I came. I was the one who had you moved."

"What? Why? The doctors at the other hospital were… nice."

"It's a long story. And I'll tell it soon. But, I want to apologize because I haven't been the greatest daughter to you."

The woman touched her hands. "What are you talking about? You're perfect the way you are."

Sakura shook her head. "Okaa-san, I was pregnant."

Her eyes widened and she reached out to touched her daughter's face. "Was? Oh, goodness, did you miscarry?"

"No. Do you remember the guy I dated in high school?"

"Um… the Kuchiki boy? Sakura-chan, what does this have to do with-" "Just hold on."

She jumped up and ran towards the door, pokng her head out poking her head out to speak with someone. But then she reached out to hold a bundle in her arms, whispering sweet words to it. And then Mebuki saw him, the boy her daughter had dated in high school. Well, now he was a man. He followed Sakura into the room as she brought the swaddled bundle over to her and stood quietly behind the chair.

"I want you to meet our daughter, Kuchiki Tsukiko. She was born two months ago."

The small bundle fussed a bit as Sakura passed her over. Mebuki was amazed by her. She had her mother's mouth, with the stark bow at the top, but her father's nose and face shape. And a mop of black hair to add. "She's beautiful."

"Thanks, Okaa-san."

But then her mother frowned. "Sakura-chan, I thought you had gotten married to that Uchiha boy."

Sakura sighed. "I did. But, we're divorced now. Things… happened. A lot of things happened. How long will you be able to stay awake?"  
Mebuki leaned back on her bed, rest the babe on her shoulder. "As long as you let me hold this little one, I can stay awake."

* * *

Author's Note: I obviously have no idea about how the Japanese army works in real life and I hope you know and understand that I made up how it works for the purpose of this chapter. Additionally, I hope none of you readers take offense to my use North Korea in this chapter. Again, it was just for the purpose of this chapter. My aim is always to aim for realism both within the context of these anime worlds and the real world.

So, please, no flames regarding those two topics. And, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon!


	13. XIII - At the End of It All

A/N: Here's a trigger warning. Towards the end of this chapter, there's a short description of hopelessness and suicide that may be triggering for some people. So, please tread carefully.

* * *

 **XIII - At the End of It All**

He had gotten her to Isane as quickly as he physically could. She had stopped breathing and he begged to any possible higher god that was out there to let her live. It was a selfish wish, but he needed her. He needed her in his life more so than he had realized before. They'd had too little time together and most of it had been without admitting their feelings. He waited outside the Division, staring up at the night sky with his reiatsu hidden. If he left it released, his men would come running, thinking he had been injured so something and he didn't need them getting in the way.

Kotetsu-fukutaichou had come to find him, her eyes downcast. She and Isane had done all that they could and healed Sakura's body. But there was nothing else either of them could do. She was too far gone for them to save her. His heart splintered within his chest and he could only close his eyes in hopes that he could keep it together while in public.

"You're... welcome to see her body, Kuchiki-taichou, if you wish."

He turned quietly and followed her throughout the station. At the door, Isane exited the room and bowed her head to him. "I'm sorry, Kuchiki-san."

Byakuya waited until the left around the corner to enter the room, closing the door silently behind him. She laid on the bed, dressed in the white robes and her pink locks fanned around her. In this room, in this state, she seemed so small, smaller than he remembered, even from holding her not an hour earlier. He reached a hand out to touch her hand, but clenched his fingers into a fist instead.

If only he had been faster. If only he had been able to land stronger hits on their opponent before she asked to do it alone. If only.. If only...

He slipped his hand under her head and gathered her against his chest, squeezing his eyes closed. If only he could go back and kill the bastard himself, before she had to...

It wasn't fair. Was he cursed to never find fulfilling happiness with the women he opened up to? Was he forever cursed to live his life in solitude, those around him leaving or dying? First, his father, his mother, then Hisana, and now her. What was he supposed to do? He pressed his lips to the crown of her head, begging in his mind for her to come back to him. He apologized for not being able to love like she wanted when she needed him most. He apologized for causing her pain.

He just wanted to see her again, finally tell her how he felt.

But then something pulsed in the room.

For a second, Byakuya thought it had been her. That her chakra had flared again. But it wasn't her. It was her zanpakuto pulsing next to her on the table. His slate grey eyes widened. If her zanpakuto could was still active like this, then maybe she wasn't completely gone.

He laid her down gently and remembered one of their nights together at the Estate. She had taught him a useful healing technique that she adapted for his reiatsu use. Gently, he slipped the left shoulder of her robe off and gently pressed a hand over her heart. Focusing, he stretched a strand of reiatsu out to flow and wrap around her heart, his eyes closed to visualize just as she taught him. He could remember her soft giggles as she had him practice on a fake heart she'd taken from the medical station. Then, he flooded her heart with his energy while performing CPR, careful to not break any of her ribs.

Every time he blew into her mouth, he prayed for something to happen. He knew that CPR shouldn't be done after a certain time frame. But her zanpakuto kept pulsing next to him, giving him hope, false or not.

And then her heart finally gave a stuttering and weak beat. And then another one, a little stronger. He felt like he should have used his reiatsu to help her lungs. But he wasn't that skilled.

He withdraw his reiatsu as her heartbeat became stronger and cupped the top of her head, calling her name. "Sakura. Sakura."

Finally, she gasped, arching her back up off the bed and then coughing. He restrained her as her hands swung wildly in the air, as if fending someone off. As she settled, he stood and told a passing nurse to get Kotetsu-taichou.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, circling around the room. "...Byakuya...?"

He took her hand.

She groaned softly, shifting. "My body aches."

"You died," he whispered, squeezing her fingers.

"I was?" She blew out a breath, closing her eyes again.

But he leaned forward to press her forehead gently against hers and kissed her lips. "I love you, Haruno Sakura."

Though his eyes were closed now, he could imagine the smile that graced her lips as her hand touched his cheek. "I know."

\/\/\/

Sakura stood before the Soutaichou, her own taichou, Isane, standing to his left while Ise Nanao stood to his right. She had just finished giving her report of the mission. But Isane was present because she had operated outside of the duties that were outlined for her before the start of the mission. Granted, yes, she had healed her comrades as necessary. But when the enemy presented himself, she had not called for Kuchiki-taichou and had, instead, taken on the enemy herself.

Kyoraku lifted his hat, his one eye watching her with aloofness, but the underlying serious very present. "Could you explain your actions?"

"As you know, Soutaichou, I remember my previous life before I died. In my village, I was a shinobi, similar to your Onmitsukido Division. When we passed our examinations and were allowed to take on missions, we were honor-bound to take care of our teammates, no matter what happens to them. Desertion is not an option."

"This doesn't explain why you clearly violated your orders," Ise-fukutaichou said. But Kyoraku quieted her.

"Please continue."

"The enemy, his name was Uchiha Sasuke, and he was one of my teammates. We died together. But he went to Hell. The moment I saw him during the mission, it became my duty to fight him. Not Inumuta, not Meiji, not Kazu, and not Kuchiki-taichou. I had promised him long ago that I would never let him fall, that I would never let him fail himself and our village. I had to be the one to kill him. Not because I wanted to. But because of my honor to him and our honor to our village."

Kyoraku hummed, rubbing his chin. "I see what you mean, Haruno-san. But, that still doesn't cover your refusal to follow orders."

"I explained this as succinctly as I could to Kuchiki-taichou and he eventually allow me this honor killing. By then, my orders had changed."

"You almost took your life in the process," Isane tried to counter.

"And, if I had died, then so be it. Teammates should always protect each other. Only families would sacrifice their lives for each other."

They all sat in the silence of her statement and Kyoraku finally sighed, pulling his hat down over his eyes. "Very well, Haruno-san. I accept your report and will not punish you for your actions. But, please know that such a pardon is rarely ever granted for direct violation of orders."

Sakura bowed deeply, hands at her sides. "Thank you, Soutaichou."

\/\/\/

He woke to the sound of her shifting. For a second, he thought she leaving and prepared to stop her. But she wasn't. She'd draped his yukata over shoulders, over her bra and underwear, and sat cross-legged in front of the open bedroom door, looking up at the night sky. The moon was nowhere to be found since it was the night of the new moon. He sat up and moved to sit behind her, pushing her hair aside to kiss her neck and shoulder. His strong thighs pressed against her softer, leaner ones.

"I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered, leaning back against his chest and clutching his wrists to wrap his arms around her petite body.

He only gave a soft hum to say he was fine with it.

"I just... couldn't stop thinking. I know it's been two months now but... I can't forget the things Sasuke accused me of."

"You were not at fault."

She sat quietly in the circle of his arms and whispered, "But what if I was?"

He sat up straighter, looking out over the garden beyond the door. "Hell has a way of skewing its inhabitants' perceptions of their final hours. And, because he was someone from your past, you would believe his words. He was your friend and he was hurt."

When she didn't say anything his hands touched her gently - shoulders, neck, cheeks, and temple - but not enough to suggest he wanted her intimately.

"Sometimes... I wish I had been able to take his hand and go to Hell with him. Maybe then, he wouldn't have been so hurt, so lonely." She looked up at him over her shoulder. "But then I wouldn't have been able to meet you again."

He pecked her lips.

As she settled against him, he closed his eyes. Not to sleep, but to be present in the moment with her. But he felt the subtle shift in her.

"I never you told you about the scar on my throat."

"I did not expect you to. It is personal."

"But you've shared personal stories with me." Her fingers grazed the scar on her throat. "The enemy had drained me of my chakra. Without it, I was too weak to engage them. I could barely drag myself over to the tree where you found me. Sasuke had managed to kill the immediate ambushers, but he was bleeding out from a deep gash in his abdomen and I didn't have the chakra to heal him. Neither of us would have made it back to our village. He laid his head in my lap and begged me to help make him not scared. He was afraid of what came after."

She fell quiet for a couple minutes and he patiently waited.

"I stabbed him in the heart. It was the quickest way I could think of for him. He didn't take long. But I did. I couldn't stand the waiting and I could hear more of them coming. They would have tortured me, broken me and forced me to give them all of my village's secret. And I couldn't do that. I wasn't mentally prepared to withstand the torment. So, I took the same kunai and... just slit my throat. I didn't have the guts to just stab myself. What if I missed? This was... the only way."

She turned her head towards him but didn't look directly at him. "Does that... make me a coward?"

He didn't say anything for a couple seconds and reached up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. "A coward would have been more afraid of death. That you readily embraced it speaks more to your conviction to protect your village."

She settled again. "...I guess."

"This is why you wanted to leave the headbands."

"Yes. It would have been days before they sent someone out to search for us. By then, I'm not sure our bodies would have still been there. It was the least I could have done for Sasuke, and for our teammates, the ones we saw at the stone. That kind of closure is what I knew they needed."

"And what you needed."

She ducked her head. "Yeah..." But she looked up at the sky again. "I just wish I could have save him."

"Do not dwell on it," he offered, holding her tighter against his chest. He crossed his legs under her knees, wanting to hold all of her. "Dwelling on it will only darken your heart. You'll lose yourself in wishing for the things you could have done differently."

They sat in the following silence of the night. She didn't need to ask how he knew. He had shared with her his story of Hisana before and how it had made him colder afterwards. But she knew about the choices he made after her passing and how he resolved to be kinder to Rukia once she knew about her late older sister. In the last two months, Sakura had been around when he agonized over whether or not to give Rukia a kimono to dance in for the New Year. It made her giggle, even now, at how ridiculous he was acting over asking her such a simple thing. Of course the woman had said yes; she wouldn't have given any other answer.

He nuzzled behind her ear and tightened his hold around her waist. "What?"

She sighed, holding onto his forearms. "Nothing. Just remembering something."

"From then or now?"

"Now." She turned her head to kiss him deeply. "I might still regret not doing more. But at least I know that I can hold their memories in my heart and move on."

* * *

A/N: This is not the end of the drabbles! And it's certainly not the end of Sakura and Byakuya from this story line. But, it's at least the end of the bulk of their story. Look forward to more from this story line and other stories as well.


	14. XIV - Voided Contract

**XIV - Voided Contract**

They leaned back against the relatively empty bar with her nestled against his side. She wore a pale, pastel blue lacy corset that accentuated her slight hourglass figure, black faux leather pants that hugged her hips and legs, and a matching blue collar with black studs. The collar marked her as his in the eyes of everyone else in the club. He wore a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top couple buttons undone. He also wore black skinny jeans and pointed black boots. The whole outfit made his slate grey eyes stand out.

They had been going to the club almost every weekend for the last six months. In fact, this club was where they had met because of Sakura's newfound realization that she was a submissive.

Sakura was a naturally shy person. She wanted to go out and socialize but found herself paralyzed almost to the point of having a nervous breakdown whenever she entered crowded spaces. Her friend, Yamanaka Ino, had suggested she be someone's submissive; her dominant could force her to be comfortable in social situations. While she knew Ino had meant it as a joke, it didn't stop Sakura from doing her research. No, she didn't expect her dominant to suddenly make her comfortable being around other people. But, hopefully, if she could find the right dominant, they would understand her needs.

Of course she knew about the sexual side of being in a dom-sub relationship. But, hopefully, her dom would have been patient with her and eased her into that side of the relationship.

This club had been listed as popular in the BDSM community and was a friendly place for visitors and beginners. They had special nights for visitors every two months where membership wasn't required to enter. That night, Sakura had dressed in a little black halter dress. The neckline was a low, square-cut, showing off her barely-there cleavage and ending just beneath her breasts. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head. And, after watching so many smokey-eye video tutorials, she felt satisfied with her makeup, splashing some perfume on, and strapped on a pair of black heels.

That night, she'd stayed on the wall mostly, holding a glass of water in her hand. In her apartment, she'd been ready to go. But, standing on the sidewalk in front of the club had spiked her anxiety up tenfold. And she'd made it inside somehow, someway; she couldn't exactly remember how she'd convinced herself to get in, but she did. Against the wall, she tried to stay inconspicuous and had considered just leaving because what was she even thinking? How could she have thought that she could change her life this way?

But, then, he had spotted her. Kuchiki Byakuya, as he had introduced himself, approached her, despite her immediate response to look away. He made the simple observation that she was not marked by another as claimed. Sakura gulped and nodded, saying she had never been there before and was hoping for... something. He offered her a drink at the bar and, after she could feel the courage welling up inside of her, they ended up on the dance floor. The night had ended with her going home with him. And it was all over after that.

No, they hadn't slept together that night. But he explained what he expected out of her if she agreed to be his submissive. Eating well, staying fit, not getting pregnant, only seeing each other on the weekends, and, if he so choose, completing "homework assignments" during the week, among other stipulations. The night ended with them making out on his couch.

His friends, Kyoraku and Ukitake, the owners of the club, stood behind the bar, conversing with Byakuya. But Sakura was focused on the women performing on the poles for the crowd. And, while they were essentially performing for the crowd, their Masters stood at the forefront, where their eyes stayed focused. Their sensual movements were enticing with their lace covered breasts and privates, even to Sakura who was not generally attracted to her own sex.

"Do you want to perform like that, Sakura-chan?" Kyoraku asked as she watched them.

She blushed hotly and shook her head.

"Why not? It would be fun. And make Byakuya-kun very happy."

She glanced over at him. "Would it?"

Byakuya ran his fingers through her long pink locks, his fingertips caressing the base of her skull. "The thought has its... appeal."

Her face flamed as he buried his nose in her hair. Her hand found purchase on his thigh, near his crotch. But he quickly captured her wrist, stopping her exploration. Her green orbs blinked as she continued to consider the women dancing on the stage. "Others would see me dancing though."

"You would only have eyes for me, Sweet One." The hand holding her wrist moved to trail up her arm, touching the hollow of her throat. The action made her shiver and look up into his eyes.

"Besides, there's nothing saying you can't perform for him privately," Kyoraku offered with a wink. "Tsunade-san leads the dance classes. There's one starting again next Saturday at noon. she mentioned recently that she hasn't seen you in a while."

Tsunade was an older female dom who had stopped taking in submissives a while ago. But, she had known Kyoraku and Ukitake a long time and offered to lead meetings for submissive female-identified people and dance classes, both private and group. She could be harsh and tough, but Sakura found she liked the woman's personality.

"Well, I guess I could try the first class at least. Is Byakuya-sama really okay with it?"

He hummed, tipping her chin up to peck her lips. "Do what makes you comfortable. I cannot make the choice for you."

She grinned up at him. "I think I want to try it."

"Perfect," Kyoraku grinned. "And don't worry. If Tsunade gets too mean for you, Ukitake will be up in the office to comfort you."

The white-haired male winked.

Byakuya pushed off from the edge of the bar and took her hand. "Come. Dance with me." She willingly let him pull her along, reveling in the warmth of his strong hand around hers. She knew his plans for the evening. Ukitake asked them to lead a lesson demonstration for as a refresher for the regulars and new content for the beginner members. The offer of dancing was to make her more pliable and willing to his touch, not that she needed it. The demonstration would be on rope work, the different ways a dominant could tie up their submissive, how to use the rope properly, and using safe words through the whole process.

Being tied up in rope was, surprisingly, one of Sakura's favorite things. Byakuya used it as a treat for her, for when she'd done exceptionally well over the weekend. And, tonight, he promised that if she did well during the demonstration, he would tie her in the ropes naked once they returned to his apartment.

She was already wet just thinking about it.

\/\/\/

Over the course of the next two months, Sakura attended the dance classes with Tsunade that were held during the week. Since she basically pushed papers around on her computer in her cubicle, it wasn't that hard to find the time to go to the classes after work.

Sakura was not a naturally artistic person. She had a brain for numbers and logic. But when it came to feeling the music and letting her body flow with the sound and her intuition, she had a bit of a harder time. However, she wanted to improve for Byakuya; she wanted his jaw to drop when he saw what she had learned, how she learned to move with sensuality and... some grace.

Beyond Tsunade, there were ten subs there in total, all attending each class. Ukitake was there to supervise, both on the floor and from his office. Sakura assumed everyone's dominants either watched in secret or were off doing their own thing. She had no doubt that Byakuya dropped in every so often. One night, she had noticed his car parked in the lot. After that night, she never saw it again, but that didn't mean he wasn't there. Anyone else would have been weirded out by someone keeping tabs on them like that. But it actually warmed her heart to know that he cared to know that she was doing okay, but trying to give her space.

However, her issue was Tajima Hisana. Sakura knew she had been Byakuya's submissive before her and honestly tried to not interact with her too much. But she was in the dance class with her. It wouldn't have been a problem if Hisana didn't seem to make a conscious effort to always one-up her. She was always trying to show Tsunade how perfect she could do the move while the blonde helped Sakura.

One evening, she'd come up to Sakura during their break and asked, "Are you sure this class isn't too advanced for you, Sakura-san? I'm worried that maybe you're not getting what you need out of these sessions."

To everyone else, it looked as if she was a concerned fellow learner and submissive. But, to Sakura, her body language and tone said it all - she had issues with Sakura being in the class, and possibly being a submissive in the club in general. One of the other submissives, Hinata, told her about how Byakuya and Hisana had been a pair for a long time at the club. Others had thought they would do the Ceremony of Roses, the ultimate ceremony that showed that the dominant and submissive were soul mates and were committed to each other in every aspect of their lives together and beyond.

But things had fallen apart.

Hinata wasn't the first person to tell her this because it wasn't the first time Hisana had been a problem. Byakuya admitted after a minor confrontation at the club that he had had a long contract with Hisana, longer than he planned. But things were not meant to be between them when she asked for things he had no desire to provide. And she was a possessive creature. So, letting go of him would always be an arduous task, especially since reputable BDSM clubs were hard to come by and he was not willing to uproot just to avoid her.

And Sakura wasn't willing to end her contract just to avoid Hisana.

The day Hisana had confronted her, she went up to sit with Ukitake, who shared a pot of tea with her. He reminded her that she was there for the class and that her dominant had paid for her to learn. It was true; she wanted to perform on the stage for him and then take him back to his apartment and perform for him in private. She couldn't let Hisana get in the way of what she wanted.

The weekend before the performance, Byakuya took her to the club again. She wore a long, flower-print maxi dress that buttoned up the front, the sleeves slipping down to her elbows. The neckline was low enough to show a hint of cleavage and the black collar studded with pastel blue jewels.

He wore his usual attire of black jeans, black buttons down, and pointed black boots.

They danced on the dance floor. There were no performances today and the club was packed with members. Sakura could feel the bass thumping through her body and could feel the music and atmosphere take a hold of her as she danced against him. It was enticing and heady. They'd only been there an hour and she wanted to leave already; she needed him.

But his hands steadying her movements made her blink up at him. "What is it, Byakuya-sama?"

He was looking towards the bar. "Kyoraku wants to speak with me."

"Oh. Can I go use the bathroom first?"

He looked down at her for a beat, almost as if assessing her, and then nodded. "Meet me at the bar."

After Sakura peed and washed her hands, she stepped out into the crowd, looking for her Master by the bar. But she was surprised to see Hisana standing far too close to the very man she sought. And Kyoraku was not at the bar. Byakuya looked off into the distance while Hisana pressed her hands against his chest and reached up on her toes to kiss him.

Sakura gasped and turned to head back to the bathroom, lingering outside its door. She ran her fingers through her hair a couple times. Maybe, if she went inside the bathroom and walked back out again, it wouldn't be real. Maybe she was just imagining things.

But she was cornered outside the bathroom by a man whom had almost gotten her as his submissive. While he supposedly had one of his own now, that didn't stop him from approaching her, even when Byakuya was with her. "Uh, excuse me, Uchiha-san."

Itachi didn't move though and took her hand in his as she attempted to move past him. "I'm sorry. I saw it too."

Her eyes watered and the resistance drained from her. She slumped against the wall, Itachi still holding her hand. "So... I didn't just imagine it?"

He sighed softly, closing his eyes. "No. Many of us suspected the possibility of them resuming their contract. I had assumed he would have ended yours first."

"But... he told me he was done with her."

"I truly am sorry, Sakura-chan." He tried to pull her against him, but she pressed her hands against his chest, trying to step back.

"Please, I just need a moment to myself."

He looked around, shielding her as another male exited the bathroom, though he paid no mind to them. "You shouldn't be alone. Now that others have seen, word will spread quickly. Others will try to claim you."

"Then I'll just go home. Please, let me go."

But his grip didn't loosen. "Let me escort you to your car."

"Itachi-sama, please," she said firmly. "Leave me alone."

He pinned her against the wall, palms firm against her wrists above her head. "He doesn't want you anymore. So you're coming with me."

She tried to fight him, but he was bigger than her. He overpowered her quickly, ripping off her collar, and started to drag her towards the men's bathroom. Finally, she managed to scream for help. Itachi's hand slapped over her mouth but someone was already there, punching him in the face. Sakura fell to the floor, trembling and surprised to see Byakuya standing over him. He grabbed the other man by the front of his shirt, pressing him against the wall.

Sakura jumped up to stop him, gripping an arm. "Byakuya-sama, please don't."

"Go wait in the car, Sakura."

"But-" "I said go," he warned, barely glancing at her with furious grey eyes.

"Seems you've done a terrible job in training her properly," Itachi goaded. Byakuya wrapped a hand around his throat.

Sakura tried to stop him but his look said everything he refused to repeat. She bunched her fists at her sides, even as people began to crowd at the commotion. "You have no right to be angry when I saw Hisana all over you and you didn't do anything to stop her. So don't act like I'm the one at fault here." She spun and shoved through the crowd, passing Kyoraku, and passing Ukitake at the bar, both who called after her.

Outside, she didn't walk toward his car, like he told her to. The bouncer at the front even called after her. But she continued on, storming onto the Tokyo streets. The club was located more on the outskirts of downtown, less hustle and bustle, less likely for people to accidentally stumble in or create problems.

Of course, this put her a bit farther from the subway than she would have preferred to get back to her apartment. But she didn't care if her feet hurt by the time she'd get back to her apartment. She didn't care if she had to drag herself up the stairs and literally crawl into bed.

And she surely didn't care if Kuchiki Byakuya came after her or not. And he probably wouldn't if he clearly wanted Hisana back over her.

A couple tears dropped onto her arms wrapped around her waist. And she quickly dashed them away, barely able to maneuver her way around the other pedestrians. It hadn't really occurred to her that Byakuya wouldn't want her as his submissive long term. Of course contracts were only temporary; and it was usually a learning and pleasurable experience for both people involved. But did he not get pleasure with her? Did he not find himself learning about another, seeing the world differently with her?

A couple more tears dropped onto her arms. But it wasn't her tears. Umbrellas began to open around her as the sky unleashed a torrent of fat raindrops. She stopped walking.

What was she even talking about? She and Byakuya were not in a relationship. This was... It was a contractual relationship. It was a lifestyle choice that she would have to adapt to with each new person as she progressed in her venture to be a submissive.

So why did the thought of Byakuya releasing her have her lungs struggling to find air, her heart beating harder? Her hands shook at the thought of being forced to find another dominant when she wasn't ready. She had sacrificed her weekends, withstood her friends complaining about not spending time with them, to be with him. Even Ino had complained to her every time they saw each other at work that it felt like Sakura was becoming her work friend and not her best friend. And while she apologized, she knew that her current lifestyle choice was for her betterment, at least in her opinion. Kuchiki Byakuya made her feel sexy and like a woman who could be wanted by others. He made her feel confident and like she could conquer the world with a single fist.

Yet, here she was, in the middle of the pavement with no jacket or umbrella to protect her from the rain and feeling lower than low. Like when the girls laughed at her still flat chest in high school in the gym locker room. There was one time, Byakuya had to cancel one of their weekends because of a business trip he couldn't rearrange. On the phone, she had said it was fine and she'd find something to do. In reality, she'd spent the entire weekend doing nothing.

What did this mean for her?

She only walked a couple more minutes before she noticed a car pull over a couple feet ahead of her. Byakuya climbed out, looking at her. He didn't have an umbrella but the punctual slam of his car door said that getting wet was the least of his concern. Part of her was ready to raise her chin to him and frown. But, everything in her forced her to bow her head and look away.

He stood before her, saying nothing for a couple beats. "I will only ask once: why did you not do as I said?"

"Because I'm going home, to my apartment. I... I don't want to spend the rest of the weekend with you," she said softly, hoping the sound of the rain drowned out her voice. But it didn't.

"I told you to get in the car."

"I don't want to be in a car with you. I was clearly just a rebound choice. I saw Hisana all over you."

The frown on his face deepened but he said nothing. Sakura tried to edge her way around him, but he grabbed her wrist and his slate grey eyes found hers. "Sakura. We have spoken about Hisana in the past."

He was right. They had. Her name had come up one night at the club about three weekends into their contract. Another Master, who hadn't been in a while, commented how he was surprised that Byakuya was with another woman when he'd been with Hisana for so long. He was sure the two would have been together for longer than the three years they were together. Byakuya, by then, had already assured his pink-haired partner that she was his and that's how it would be.

She assumed the unspoken 'for now' and that was before she saw the other woman trying to seduce him.

"Hisana and I did not continue our contract because she wanted to include other men and I am unwilling to share my submissive in that manner, even if it implied a newfound closeness afterwards. I do not do threesomes and I do not share. No matter what she may say or how she may try to seduce me, I do not desire her any longer. She did not care for my wants and feelings, so I do not care for hers."

Sakura's brows furrowed. "But... I saw her standing with you at the bar. She had her hands on you. You were supposed to talk with Kyoraku."

He raised a brow. "Then you did not see me push her away."

"...You did?"

Byakuya used his grip on her wrist to pull her closer to him. "If you so wish, we can go back and confirm with any of the other patrons who were nearby. In fact, some came to your defense, including Kyoraku."

"They did?" Her eyes watered at the intensity she saw in his eyes. Her fingers fisted in his wet shirt and she ducked her head, not caring if her hair fell in her eyes. "I'm just afraid... of you letting me go. I'm not ready yet."

"I do not plan to let you go," he said sternly, tilting her chin up to kiss her. She whimpered at the intensity of the kiss. It wasn't rough, but it wasn't gentle either. It poured passion into her, making her knees weak. And then he whispered, "Not now, not any time soon."

"Byakuya..."

He straightened and asked, "Are you ready to get in the car now?"

She tucked wet locks behind her ear and took his hand. "Yes."

\/\/\/

Sakura gasped, lifting her head from the pillow. The room was dark, barely lit by the dying embers in the fireplace towards the foot of the bed. Large hands held her still, instantly settling her. They were in his bed. She had blacked out after he made her orgasm so hard in their playroom. He must have carried her up to his bedroom.

"Relax, you're safe."

Slowly, she snuggled back into the pillow before turning to hug him. His lips touched her forehead and eyelids as he folded her against his side. She could feel his strong, naked thighs against hers, skin to skin. As much as his body alone aroused her at the mere sight, she currently just wanted to stay cocooned next to him forever.

When morning came, she wasn't surprised to find he had left her alone in bed. Usually on Saturday and Sunday mornings, he made her breakfast, even though she insisted that she preferred not to eat breakfast. Eight months, almost nine months, into their contract and eating breakfast was still hard for her because she hated eating breakfast. Though, Byakuya did make delicious meals.

And, sometimes, he allowed her to feast on him if she had behaved well in the playroom.

Rolling out of bed, she slipped on a black silk robe from his closet and padded down the stairs towards the living room. Her master, her dominant, sat in an armchair, reading a book. He wore a pair of black silk boxer briefs, no shirt. She waited patiently by the stairs, head bowed, until he would give her permission to join him.

He smirked and closed his book with a gentle snap, crooking his finger for her to come over. Sakura quickly padded across the tiled floor and crawled into his lap, where he wrapped his arms around her waist. He nosed open her robe to kiss the underside swells of her breasts before pulling off her robe completely.

"Byakuya-sama," she whispered.

His hands slid over her back, down over her hips and backside. "When you first went to the club, is this what you expected?"

She hummed as he pressed a kiss between her breasts. This gentleness between them was new and unexpected. "I had done some research that led me to come to the club. But... no. You've given me so much more than I expected."

"Research?" he mumbled.

She nodded, blushing softly. "I didn't want to go to the club completely unaware and without some knowledge of what was appropriate or expected of me. And, with all the things we've done and how much you've taught me, I didn't realize how much I was actually missing from my life."

Byakuya gave a soft hum, kissing down from her breast bone to her stomach before taking her wrist and kissing down from her elbow. He moved down to her palm before moving to her other arms. All Sakura could do was stare as he peppered her body with such affection. He'd never done this before and she wasn't sure whether to question it or leave him to his own devices. "Now that you understand yourself and your body," he started, "will you search out other dominants to show you more than I can?"

At this, she stilled and pulled her hand from his grasp. He looked up to see confusion and fear twisting her features. "...Are you saying... Do you not want me as your submissive anymore?"

He held both of her wrists. "I do not repeat myself, Sakura."

It took her a couple seconds to remember that the night before he _had_ said that he wasn't going to let her go. She slowly cupped his face and searched his eyes. "I don't want to end things with you. Before and even now, doing this with another man terrifies me."

"You would learn to trust him as you have come to trust me."

She shook her head, her pink locks falling over her shoulders and breasts. "It wouldn't be the same. I knew what I was getting myself into and hoped I would find the right dominant for me that night." She blushed. "If it became too much for me that first night before you approached me, I knew I wouldn't have gone back to the club."

"Then I caught you at the right moment."

She nodded.

His hands pulled her down to kiss her, gentle at first and then deepening it. Their tongues passed languidly against each other. All too soon, he pulled back. "Hungry?"

She blushed. "Only if Byakuya-sama allows me to suck him off first."

"I don't know if you're in a position to make such demands," he said, using the stern voice he reserved only for her. But his kissed her pebbled nipples, making her gasp. "Though, you did apologize very well last night. And you followed my commands in the playroom."

Sakura bit her lip as he leaned back, hands moving to the armrests. "Yes, you may take your fill."

She quickly slid from his lap and knelt between his spread legs. Because he had kept her raised on her knees, she didn't feel the erection that now tented his boxers. He watched impassively as she palmed him through the black silk. She gripped him with her fingertips, stroking him through the material until he finally gave a soft groan.

With that, she pulled down his boxers, him raising his hips to help her. And his heavy cock bobbed up once freed. He was thick and long, touching her in places no other man had touched before. Not only that, but he also had a Prince Albert piercing. It wasn't very thick, the piercing itself. The only part anyone could see were the two, small silver balls at the tip and underneath. And when he thrust into her, her world exploded in stars and universes.

But sucking him off was just as good, more for him but she always became dripping wet. And this time was no different.

\/\/\/

"Byakuya?"

He looked up, surprised to see his submissive standing in the doorway of his office. When his assistant said someone was here to see him, he didn't think it would be her as he told to stop by. But, he remembered that she had a doctor's appointment today, wearing black leggings and a forest green lounge shirt. But, he also didn't think that as soon as the door closed behind her, tears would start to stream down her cheeks.

He stood and strode over to her as she began to gasp and hiccup, holding her upper arms. "Sakura, breathe."

"You're going to hate me," she cried, clutching the front of his shirt.

"You have to breathe."

"Please don't get rid of me. I'm sorry."

"Sakura," he commanded, using the voice he usually reserved only for their playroom. But it got her attention through her hysterics, her emerald orbs looking up at him. "I won't tell you again."

He spun her around, pressing her back against his chest while his hand splayed over her chest and breasts. "You know what you need to do. And I'll help you."

She gave a few shuddering breaths, clutching the other arm that held her around the waist. But as he slowly breathed deeply, quietly, she began to as well, until she finally relaxed. When he was sure she had calmed, he turned her to face him again. "Better?"

She nodded, closing her eyes.

"There's a glass in the bathroom. Go drink some water."

Her eyes popped open, the protest ready on her tongue. But the look he gave her told her she didn't have an option. She went into the private restroom he had in his office. He sat down on the couch off to the side. When she came back, she had the glass clutched in both hands and sat next to him, stiff as a board. But she wouldn't look at him.

"I'm sorry that I came here," she whispered, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I know I'm not supposed to, unless you invite me or bring me here. But I needed to speak with you."

His face remained blank, unsure what to think about her not calling him beforehand. Not that he really cared if she came unexpectedly or not. Since the night that Hisana tried to seduce him, he realized he was slowly developing feelings for his pink-haired submissive. What he should have done was end their contract and continue as two individuals pursuing a romantic relationship. But, he knew that neither of them were ready to end the contract. And he still needed guidance on how to pursue a relationship with someone who was his submissive.

She took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. "I went to the doctor's today for a checkup. And... well..." Her fingers clutched the glass tighter. "I'm pregnant."

His eyes widened.

She swallowed thickly after seeing his silent reaction. "I'm two and a half months pregnant. Even though I have the birth control shot, I think it was from that night the condom broke." She suddenly stood, placing the glass down, pacing and wringing her hands together. "The doctor asked me what I wanted to do. I know the contract says I can't get pregnant. I... I know you're probably going to say I have to get rid of it. But, I came here to tell you that I won't."

Part of him was surprised when she turned to face him, eyes fierce. She did not usually show such confrontational attitudes towards him, even if he said or did something she didn't like outside of their weekends. She was always rational and calm. This was a version of herself that she usually kept hidden from him.

"I can't get rid of something that's a part of me. It's tiny but I already love it. And, I'll understand if you don't want it. I'm not expecting you to pay me child support or to be in its life when you don't want to be. And I know that we'll have to end our contract because of this. But I'm keeping it."

He stared at her for a minute before pressing a hand to his forehead and chuckled. It was a deep chuckle that wasn't mocking or menacing. Sakura wasn't sure what it was. But her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and she gripped the material of her shirt.

He stood and came over to her, touching her wrists and eventually holding her hands. "Haruno Sakura, if you don't know my heart by now, then perhaps I really need to tell you."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He kissed her forehead and her lips. "My feelings for you are stronger than just the context of our contract."

Her eyes widened. "...What?"

"I stopped caring about the parameters of the contract the night Hisana approached me at the club. That night made me realize that I wanted only you, not who you were with the contract." He squeezed her hands. "I have been inviting you to dinner and to spend time with me outside of the weekends."

"I mean yeah but..." Her eyes searching his face. "You mean it?"

"I do."

Her eyes watered as she pressed their foreheads together. "You're not going to make me get rid of it?"

"No. We will figure this out."


	15. XV - Kendo Kaichou

**XV - Kendo Kaichou**

It was Sakura's third year in high school, her senior year. The school she and the rest of the student body attended sat on top of a hill that overlooked most of suburban Tokyo. With all the space of the hill to themselves, the school spent most of its fund-raised money on installing quality facilities and equipment for the various student clubs, especially sports clubs. The bicycle racing club utilized the hill they sat on, as well as the rest of the city and the swim club had their own Olympic-sized pool and state of the art facilities. They built a separate dojo for the kendo and archery club to share together without getting in each other's way.

Sakura had always known she was meant to hold a sword in her hand. As a child, growing up, her parents only ever told her stories of female warriors because those were the only ones she cared for. Apparently, at her first birthday celebration, they had gotten the clever idea to switch scissors out with a toy bokken. And, Sakura, being the complex child that she was, picked up both the toy bokken and the pocket dictionary at the same time. This was unheard of and her parents tried to initially argue which one she'd picked up first. But her grandmother ended the argument, saying Sakura would be both a warrior and knowledgeable.

As she got older, she had visited an old temple where the head priestess did a reading of her soul. She had to sit perfectly still on her knees, drink and saucer of sake, and place a fallen leaf of the sacred tree on her forehead. And while the priestess could not discern names, she determined that Sakura was in fact an old soul; she held the soul of a powerful female warrior from the Edo Period. And there were many female warriors from the Edo Period and no other priestess she visited could tell her the name. Not that it mattered, but she used this to fuel her training in kendo, starting in middle school.

In high school, she became the captain of the female kendo team in her second year. She had the quickest match time in their high school and the Inter-High School Kendo Competition in history. Since middle school, she became known for her agility and quick reflexes. All the females on her team, while they had their own strengths, looked up to her and sometimes fawned over her outside of the dojo while she practiced or meditated. Some of her teammates said that it was because she was harsh in training, but never made them feel like they were weak or failures and always pushed them to do better for themselves, not her.

Ino had warned her that even flipping her hair over her shoulders made some of the younger girls swoon over their _senpai_. Sakura just rolled her eyes at such a notion.

Of course, her under leadership, the women's kendo team had grown to be on par to the men's kendo team. It always bothered her that men were expected to be better at every sport over women - except volleyball. It angered her so much and she pushed her team relentlessly because she would not stand for such a stark gap in perceived abilities. Sure, men had always wielded the sword with expertise. And why wouldn't they when the sword was such a phallic object?

But women didn't seduce and outsmart men to their deaths without reason. And the modern era was the time for women to add weapons to their ongoing list of skills.

Club activities had just started for the afternoon. Their coach had given them the dojo to practice while the boys - supposedly - worked out in the gym. The archery team had passed through the back of the dojo to practice outside. A couple of first years had chosen to join in kendo the week before and a few had dropped out, like she expected. But the really determined ones weren't willing to give up... yet. Her regulars giggled as they made note that the newbies wouldn't be able to handle practice and training.

"Kaichou," Ino, her vice-captain, said, "we're ready for training. We lifted some light weights and ran three laps around the track."

"Great, thank you for your hard work, Ino-chan," she said, doing roll call. "Everyone grab a shinai. We're going to start going through some of the stances. Your bodies should be nice and warmed up. After our stances, we're going to pair up and practice some light sparring."

"Hai."

Sakura, wearing the standard navy blue hakama and keikogi, walked through the group as Ino directed them through their stances. She would sometimes call for Ino to pause and adjust some of their forms or their grips on the shinai. But, she looked over when she heard the door to the dojo open and multiple voices echo in. Sakura frowned. It was the men's team, led by Hisagi Shuuhei. They laughed and talked about the facilities, including the fact that it had a sauna for them to use after practice. But what bothered Sakura was they they were all in their kendo uniforms.

This included their only new member whom she could identify. He had broad shoulders and a lean build, identifiable even under the kendo clothes. He had long black hair that ended past his shoulders, his bangs brushed to the side of his face. While Hisagi spoke, his slate grey eyes looked around, taking in the environment before looking at her.

"Ah, Haruno-san, I see you and your team are practicing," Hisagi said with a friendly smile. Sakura didn't consider him a bad person by any means and, as captains of their respective teams, they got along quite well.

But Hisagi could also sometimes attempt to walk over her. She crossed her arms. "Yes. And I see you intend to practice as well, though you know full well that the dojo is only for us today."

"We were just showing our new recruit around. He's a third year that just transferred here this summer from Kyoto. I'm sure you've heard of him."

"Kuchiki Byakuya," the tall man said, dipping his head to her. But she didn't dip her head back.

"Haruno Sakura. Yes, I've heard about you and your competitions."

"Likewise."

She raised a delicate pink brow before narrowing her eyes back at Hisagi. "While I'm sure you all would love to take up your shinai, you can clearly see that my team is practicing. As per coach's rules, we _don't_ practice together without her." She turned to instruct her girls, since they had all finished and were now watching the exchange.

"But you can let it slide just this once, right?" Renji said, laying a hand on her shoulder. The scarlet-haired male was the vice-captain for the men's team.

She plucked his hand off with a hard pinch. "Absolutely not. The last time I agreed, all of you practiced with us every week until I had to complain to the coach. You're setting a poor example for your new team member and it'll be a shame when you all fall behind the other teams in the competition _again_ because you couldn't practice when you were told."

"You doubt their abilities?" Byakuya asked, raising a brow.

Sakura heard her teammates starting to whisper behind her, though she really didn't want to get them involved. "I don't have time for this. We need to practice."

"Then spar with me. Full kendogu."

"What are you doing?" one of the guys hissed to Byakuya as she peered over at him.

"Kaichou, don't do it," one of her girls whispered.

"It's not worth it," another said, grabbing her hand.

"You have been raising your team's abilities exponentially since you became captain. Yet, it is not you in the one-on-one competitions."

"So what purpose would this challenge serve? You're still not using the dojo today."

He said nothing, only looking at her. She didn't like his lack of an answer and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Sakura, don't," Ino warned, voice more stern than the others had been.

She knew she shouldn't have. Her whole body and mind opposed the idea. But she needed to. Something deep inside her demanded that she do this race. She gave her clipboard to Ino. "You're on, Kuchiki."

He nodded and moved to get his kendogu on. Ino tried to persuade her again to reconsider what she was doing. But Sakura ignored her as she wrapped her long hair up in a messy bun. As she strapped all her stuff in place, she stepped up to stand in front of her opponent. They bowed to each other.

"Time limit?"

"Three minutes."

She gripped her bokken in her hands. "Ino, Shuuhei, time it. Give us a time limit warning."

"Got it." There was a pause as they waited. Sakura, for a brief second, started to have second doubts. "On your mark..."

But there wasn't time for any second doubts now. Her grip on the bokken was steady.

"Get set..."

She would just have to deal with the consequences later.

When they shouted, "Go," they both moved forward

\/\/\/

Kuchiki Byakuya was surprised when it seemed Haruno Sakura had not come to school the next day, or even for the following three days after that. By lunch on the fourth day, all the members on her team, including her vice-captain, said they hadn't seen or heard from her since their last practice. Though, their whispers after his questions certainly didn't lessen his suspicions.

While Byakuya had won by hitting her in her body armor, she had fallen to the floor and hadn't immediately gotten up. As the men cheered for him, his gaze was only focused on the pink-haired captain. Yamanaka Ino and Hyuuga Hinata seemed overly worried about her while they helped her up. Ino braced her while Hinata removed her helmet and the rest of her kendogu. They asked if she was okay and reprimanded her at the same time for pushing herself. The others began to gather around her in worry and concern.

But the women's captain had said nothing as she steadied herself and shakily removed her gloves. "Pair everyone up, Ino-chan. Have everyone practice with the body armor on. The other kendogu isn't needed for today." Her voice had not been as commanding as before.

"Kaichou, you should rest," one of the girls said.

"Yeah, let us take you to the infirmary."

"He was so rough with you, Kaichou. It wasn't a fair fight."

"No, it was a fair fight," she said with a slow exhale. "And this serves as a perfect reminder that there is no level of perfection or invincibility in kendo. Please, don't worry about me, ladies. I'll feel better if you all continued to practice rather than worrying about me. Hinata-chan will help me. Please, don't worry about me."

Her humbling words served to make her team fawn over her before the Hyuuga girl escorted her out of the dojo.

On the fifth day of being absent, Byakuya finally asked their coach if she had heard anything about the pinkette.

"Didn't they tell you? She had to take the week off; Yamanaka-san and Hyuuga-san have had to take her class assignments and homework to her each afternoon. Apparently, she pushed herself too hard in practice at the beginning of the week. She's got rotator cuff tears in both shoulders and she has to take it easy in practice, otherwise they get worse. That's why she doesn't participate in most of the competitions for the women's team. She should be back next week though."

His eyes widened at this news. Rotator cuff tears were an unfortunate injury for anyone, beyond broken bones. Tears usually made it hard for people to make use of the full range of their arm movements. Yet, if she knew she had the tears, why did she agree to the challenge?

When Monday came around again, Byakuya arrived early to practice before class started. But he was surprised to see Sakura meditating on the engawa of the dojo. She had an iaito laid across her folded legs, hands holding it gingerly. On the other side of the dojo, he could hear some of the archery members practicing. But it seemed to not disturb her. He walked inside, removing his shoes, before coming around to stand next to her.

Slowly she opened her eyes and looked over at him.

"You should have said something."

Her brows barely furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

He looked down at her. "The coach told me about your shoulders."

Now she scowled. "That's none of your business."

"You should have said no when I challenged you."

"And watch that smug smirk of yours and Hisagi's at a girl backing away from a challenge?" She stood and faced him. "Come on, even I know the guys would have been raving about that for the whole school year."

"If this is about pride..."

"It has everything to do with pride, and you know it." She took a step back, glaring at him. "Don't tell me, if you had been in my position, you would have said no."

His brows furrowed.

Her face eased now, becoming impassive but knowing. "That's what I thought."

"You still should not have pushed yourself," he argued, standing.

"Why do you care? You don't know me." With that, she turned and headed inside to practice her stances. Byakuya stood for a couple seconds, watching her before turning to head into the locker room and change into his uniform.

\/\/\/

A month later, the coach made them go to a kendo camp in the mountains during a school break. Each team had different objectives - the members of the men's team had to win at least ten one-on-one matches while the members of the women's team only had to win five matches.

While that made Sakura peeved, there wasn't much she could do beyond what she was told. Their coach did tell her that she could motivate her teammates to reach for more than five, but that was not the purpose of the camp. The purpose of the camp was to grow closer as teammates. Since the teams slept in close quarters, they all got to know each other better in their down times. Sakura and Hisagi grew closer as captains and friends, learning about the things they wanted from their teammates and themselves.

It was certainly surprising to learn that Hisagi actually admired her self-motivation and the way she handle her girls. "You are both humbling and kind, but also stern and commanding," he said while they sat on their knees in the dojo, their teammates practicing together. "I don't know how you do it. But I wish I had such an effect on my men."

This was after the two of them had sparred together in front of their teams and she had won, pinning him to the ground.

Beyond Hisagi and the rest of her women's team, Sakura had even managed to learn things about Kuchiki Byakuya. Their conversation were usually in the early mornings before breakfast or late at night while everyone slept. Sometimes, they'd talk in the middle of the day. They talked about their families and what each of their parents expected on them. His father was the owner of prominent and wealthy company back in Kyoto and Byakuya was expected to take over. But he had no real desire to do so. Sakura, coming from a middle-class family, was expected to go into a well-respected profession, find a respectable and honorable man to marry, and provide the family with kids. What kind of life was that?

After each conversation, both were left with the feeling of wanting more. But more of what, neither was really sure. And Sakura tried her hardest to resist growing closer to him, but something about the Kuchiki man drew her in.

On their sixth night, before their last full day, Byakuya found her sitting out by the koi pond and garden. She wore loose red pajama shorts and a white tank top with no bra. "Haruno."

She looked over her shoulder at him and gave a soft smile. "Kuchiki-kun, I'm surprised you're awake."

"Couldn't sleep." He sat next to her. He wore long plaid sleep pants and a black shirt.

"Same."

She gave no invitation or indication that this was what she wanted. Hell, he wasn't sure why he had done it. After a couple minutes of sitting in silence, he reached over to pull her between his legs, her back against his chest. She had tensed but he did nothing until she finally relaxed. Then, he planted soft kisses on her shoulders and neck, pushing her hair out of the way.

"We shouldn't," she whispered, laying her head back on his shoulder, opening up to him.

He touched her chin, turning her head to kiss her. It wasn't the first kiss they'd shared on this trip. During one of their private practices, he'd suddenly reached over to hold the back of her head and press their lips together. She had shoved him away, face flaming red before swinging her shinai at him and then running away. But, that night, she found him in a different part of the garden and kissed him.

Byakuya hummed against her lips. "You're not wearing a bra."

She whimpered softly as his knuckles brushed the underside of her breasts. She knew he could clearly see her nipples through the thin material of her tank top. His hands slowly pushed her shirt up as they made out, tongues twisting and massaging. A hand shakily reached up to tangle in his hair as the base of his head. He bared her breasts, large hands holding her waist.

"Will you let me?" he said roughly.

"Please…"

His warm hands weighed her bountiful breasts, both softly sighing. His lips continued to trace soft kisses on her skin, making sure not to leave any marks. Her hands gripped the sides of his pants as he pinched her dark rosy nipples.

"Keep quiet," he whispered as she let out a soft cry before biting her lip.

"I'll try," she panted and turned her head again to kiss him. She wasted no time in dipping her tongue in his mouth.

His growing erection pressed against her backside and she scooted her hips back against it. He groaned softly and one hand abandoned her breast to travel down across her flat stomach and towards the waistband of her shorts. His moves were hesitant, not wanting to scare her. But, just as she grabbed his wrist to shove his hand in, they heard soft conversation in the distance.

They broke apart to quickly hide behind the willow tree that leaned over the pond. Byakuya pressed her against the tree, peeking out as he saw their coach taking a walk around, conversing with the retreat leader. He cursed. They were taking their sweet time. They'd even stopped.

Sakura smirked while he wasn't looking and reached down to slowly undo his pants and slip her hand in to caress his bulge through his boxer briefs. His eyes immediately found hers in the dark and she winked at him.

Oh, so she wanted to play? He slowly leaned down to make out with her, removing her hand to reach in her underwear and gently touch her clit.

She gasped in his mouth as his calloused finger pad circled the swollen pink button. As her hips tried to move with his rhythm, his fingers moved further to stroke the wetness that gather. The adults eventually seemed to walk away, as he couldn't hear them talking anymore. He pulled away and spun her around to face the tree. "Hold onto the tree," he instructed, "and keep quiet."

"I know that already," she snipped back as he pulled her shorts and underwear down, baring her lower half. "But can you keep quiet?"

He tapped a cheek in response, making her jump. Then he pulled his pants and underwear down too, his erection quivering at the prospect of touching a woman. The point wasn't to penetrate her. But sliding between those strong thighs…

She gasped as he grabbed her hips and pulled back a little, making her bottom stick out. And then he was pressing against her wet lips. Not penetrating, but sliding against them. She looked down to see the head of his cock poke forward before pulling back. The sensation… her body trembled. As he pushed forward again, his cock spread her lips apart, rubbing and touching everywhere. It even nudged against her clit.

"I see you like this," he hummed quietly. "I can feel you getting wetter and I'm not even inside you."

"Don't tease me," she whimpered, fingers curling against the bark of the tree.

"I don't plan to go all the way," he rumbled, picking up the pace but trying to keep the sound of their skin slapping together to a minimum. "We could save that for after graduation, if you're still willing then."

"What... makes you think... oh..."

He reached around to pinch her clit roughly, circling it. "Has any other man made you feel like this?"

"Byakuya..."

"Sakura..."

His hips couldn't stop. He wanted to come away from her, into the grass or something. But she had squeezed her thighs together and… his mind started to go blank. She thrust her hips back against him, begging. She didn't even know what she was begging for at this point. All she knew was that she was going to fall apart. The way he played with her clit and thrust against her lips…

"Oh, Byakuya... Byakuya, yes... I'm coming. I'm coming... please..."

He grunted and rubbed her clit while she threw her head back in a silent, gasping and panting. Her warm juices squirting over his cock and he groaned as he pulled her hips back tightly against his. His cum shot forward between her thighs, landing against the roots of the tree.

They both panted as they fell to their knees. He quickly sat back and gathered her in his lap. She kissed him, gentle and languid, while his fingers tangled in her locks. After a couple minutes to recuperate, he moved her to stand against the tree away from his puddle of cum, and pulled her shorts and underwear off her legs. Then he knelt in front of her. "What are you doing?"

But he said nothing and made her spread her legs.

She realized his intentions and grabbed his wrists. "But I already..."

"I know," he smirked and caressed her swollen flesh, making her gasp. "Trust me."

"A-Are you going to...?"

Without verbally answering, he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her peeking clit. She bit her lip, pressing her head back against the tree. She didn't know if she'd be able to handle this.

\/\/\/

Even after what they'd done at the camp, Haruno Sakura and Kuchiki Byakuya didn't initially start dating. Immediately after the camp, Sakura had to spend two days at home resting. After that, Byakuya wanted her to stop doing kendo for the sake of her well-being. She called him a misogynistic pig because it was clear he just didn't think her capable of adapting around her injuries.

"You know that's not true."

"Please. If you didn't know about my injuries, this would be a different matter altogether. You probably wouldn't be telling me such a thing."

Which was true. But he had no way of trying to make her see that, with their present matter, he just didn't want her in pain.

Instead, she ended up dating Uchiha Sasuke, who was a third-year on the bike racing team. Byakuya and most anyone else who had a functioning brain could see that he wasn't particularly affectionate with her. But he supposed if that's what she wanted, then he wouldn't say anything or interfere.

A second-year, Abarai Hisana, had approached him in hopes of dating him. Her sister, Rukia, and their friend Matsumoto Rangiku, watched from the staircase as she gave him a chrysanthemum. "I-I-I know it's one of your favorite flowers."

Just as he was about to reject her, he heard, "Kuchiki-kun."

He looked back to see Sakura approaching them. But she stopped when she noticed Hisana with him. "Oh, Haruno-san," the young woman whispered, taking a step back.

She raised her hands in a placative manner. "Uh... sorry, I didn't know you two were busy."

"What did you need?"

"It's fine." She took a couple steps back, looking away. "Um, I'll just talk to you later at the team meeting. Sorry."

As he watched her stride away, he realized that if she could move on like what they had done meant nothing, then he could too.

\/\/\/

A year and a half after graduation, Byakuya was sitting at a bar. Alone. The bar itself was pretty empty, save for an older gentleman sitting by himself with a newspaper at a table near the front and a pair of girls in a booth towards the back. He assumed they were together because they started making out with each other. And it seemed more than just some experimentation between two straight, drunk girls.

One content to be alone and another with someone they wanted to be with. Meanwhile, he was just drowning his sorrows, not that he would ever admit that out loud. Hisana had left him. For Uchiha Itachi of all people. Her reasoning was something along the lines of Byakuya not being dark enough, as Renji had hesitantly told him. He tossed back his shot of sake. Was he destined to have the Uchiha Clan take the women he liked away from him?

But his feelings for Hisana hadn't ever started out that deep. Admittedly, he'd only dated her to get over Sakura. He had liked her. She was a nice enough girl after all that his parents approved of. And he found himself starting to like her more the longer they were together. So, why did she decide he wasn't enough? And… had he liked Sakura? Of course he did. They shared a sexual experience together and even slept in the same room together for a week. After coming back from the camp, they'd tried to make it work.

He shouldn't have suggested she quit kendo.

The bartender gave him another bottle of sake when he flagged him down. "You should slow down, sir. This is your third bottle."

"He can share it with me."

Byakuya merely glanced over. He didn't even have time to react appropriately as she poured sake in her glass. Her pink hair was short, just brushing her shoulders. She wore an open white crop shirt with her black bra showing. Beneath, she had on a dark blue skirt with a wide waist that sat low on her wide hips. It all showed off her toned body well.

Including the fact that her right arm was in a sling.

"S... Sakura..."

She pushed her large, round shades up on her head. She didn't look at him as she tossed back her drink. "Yep."

He frowned. "Where's Sasuke?"

"Don't know. Don't necessarily care either." She tossed back another. "It's hard to care when you walk in on your boyfriend in the middle of a threesome with his brother and the girlfriend of an old high school friend." She glanced at him. "Sorry, by the way."

It took him the length of time for her to set her cup down, pour more sake, and drink it for him to understand her implications. He scowled. "Hisana?"

"Yep." She went to pour another but set the bottle down with a hard _clink_. "I'm more upset that I'm not bothered by what happened rather than the fact that he cheated on me."

"I thought you loved him."

She scoffed. "Love doesn't exist. I thought Sasuke liked me and that's why he asked me out. Turns out, I just looked good on his arm. And, after graduation, he was more tenacious about me not practicing kendo than you were." She set her cup down, somber. "He hit me because I wouldn't quit."

"Sakura," he hissed.

"I know already. Please, I got berated enough by everyone else." She took a slow slip, swirling the alcohol around in her cup. "We broke up for about a week before getting back together. I went to the hospital because I had searing pain down my arm while I was practicing. I had to get surgery on my left shoulder. Even though he took me back, and I took him back, I should have known. He lost interest in me. I was broken goods, apparently. I got surgery last week for my other shoulder. When I got back, he didn't spend time with me while I recovered. Naruto-kun was the one who told me about him and Hisana."

Byakuya groaned. "He was seeing Hisana?"

"Fucking her. So was Itachi. Behind our backs." She dragged a hand over her face and then her shoulders started shaking. At first, Byakuya thought she was crying. But then he heard her laughter and she threw her head back. "I should have just said yes when you told me to stop doing kendo. I knew I had to stop. My shoulders couldn't handle it. I didn't even like Sasuke that much. Whenever Sasuke and I had sex, I always imagined it was you. You were the one I really wanted."

He took another drink, thinking. "If we had actually dated, perhaps we would not have lasted. We both learned things from dating others."

"Yeah, that I'm not desirable. And please, don't pity me."

"Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

He leaned over to touch the bare space of her back and whispered, "That night, at the camp, I didn't want it to end. Eating you out, hearing the way you moaned my name, and grabbed my hair. It made me so hard. And thinking about it still gets me hard even now."

Her cheeks flushed. "It makes me wet, thinking about it too," she whispered.

He tilted her chin up to lock lips with her. She gave breathy sigh as he cupped her face and licked the seam of her lips. A whimper escaped her as she opened up, hesitantly playing along. But she pulled back suddenly. "Wait, we shouldn't. We both just broke up with people we've been seeing for a while."

"You're right," he started. "But didn't you say you don't feel bad about it?"

"Yeah..." She peeked up at him with a flirtatious smile.

He leaned in to peck her lips.

"But... my shoulder..."

"We can work around that."

Sakura threw her head back, screaming into the air as her slick passage convulsed around his cock. He shouted her name, spurting his warm seed inside of her while crushing her body to him and burying his face in her breasts. He leaned back against the headboard as she snuggled into his embrace, nuzzling his neck. They panted for air.

"That was amazing," she breathed. "I think that's the first real orgasm I've had during sex."

He chuckled. "Was Sasuke that bad?"

"It just felt rushed and not fun for me." She reached up to pepper his jaw with soft kisses. "The fact that you like eating me out says a lot. He thought it was unappealing."

"He has no idea what he was missing." He tilted her chin up to kiss her deeply. "How's your shoulder?"

"Fine." Her eyes fluttered closed. "I'm just tired now."

"Sleep then. We get our revenge tomorrow."


	16. XVI - The Lengths We Go To

A/N: This is my first attempt at a song fic chapter. So, please be gentle.

* * *

 **XVI - The Lengths We Go To**

 _All my friends are heathens. Take it slow._

 _Wait for them to ask you who you know._

 _Please don't make any sudden moves._

 _You don't the half of the abuse._

\/\/\/

The Shinigami had never, in the history of their presence, treated them well. Central 46, upon its and Seireitei's inception, had forced them to work with the Onmitsukido Division. Yet, they lived in separate and more prison-like barracks than their reiatsu-type counterparts.

They were treated worse than second class denizens of Soul Society.

And Sakura had hated it with every fiber of her being.

But this life was all she had known, having been born into it. She didn't know anything different, though she longed to know the alternatives, if there even were any. Leaving wasn't an option, even if given the best opportunity. The outside world, even the Material World, seemed crueler without the safety net of her companions and teammates.

\/\/\/

 _All my friends are heathens. Take it slow._

 _Wait for them to ask you who you know._

 _Please don't make any sudden moves._

 _You don't the half of the abuse._

\/\/\/

It's because they were chakra-users. Something about having access to a different channel of energy made them lesser within the walls of Seireitei and even on the streets of Rukongai. If they were seen patrolling through the districts, with their bone masks, black skin-tight uniforms, and white guard plates, residents were sure to make a scene. Most were stared at. Some got things thrown at them. And if they patrolled the outer districts, they were fought with.

Chakra-users weren't allowed to attend the Shino Academy or hope to become Shinigami, fighting alongside other division members. They were one of the many dirty stains on Soul Society history, yet they were a necessary evil. And to work with a Shinigami awarded you no privileges or even idolism among other chakra-users. Working with Shinigami was seen as a punishment, whether you had done something to warrant such a punishment or not.

So, why did the Soutaichou, in his kasa hat, and the Commander of the Onmitsukido Chakra Division, with her blonde pigtails, want to send Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto on a mission with the Sixth Division captain and his fukutaichou?

\/\/\/

 _Welcome to the room of people_

 _who have rooms of people that they loved one day._

 _Docked away._

 _Just because we check the guns at the door,_

 _doesn't mean our brains will change from hand grenades._

\/\/\/

The three chakra-users stood facing the taichou and fukutaichou, the latter who looked at them curiously. Tsunade and Kyoraku explained their mission to them – wearing Gigai, traveling to the mainland, and so on. Sakura was just glad they had to wear their masks at this mission debriefing. Chakra-users preferred not to show their faces outside of the barracks. Anyone passing by was sure to find those sitting outside on the engawa wearing their masks and yukata.

Sakura, more recently, was not one to show her face often, even among her comrades.

"We understand the mission itself," Sasuke murmured with crossed arms. "But why the team up with Shinigami? Are we patsies?"

"Watch it," Tsunade snapped.

"They'll only get in our way," Sakura said behind her white cat mask with red stripes on her cheeks and forehead, the eye holes and mouth lined with red. She had pulled her long pink hair back in a high ponytail. "We can handle this mission by ourselves without their input."

"You are wrong," Kuchiki Byakuya said. "Reiatsu-users are more suited for this mission alone. However, it seems chakra-users will help fill in any potential... gaps in this mission."

"Tsunade," Naruto growled.

"Hey, you shouldn't question your Commander's choices," Abarai Renji argued, fist clenched in the air.

Sakura cocked her head at him before looking at Tsunade, chin raised. "Is this... one of those missions?"

The blonde woman stared back at her before sighing and looking away. Her hands moved to her hips. "There's a seventy-five percent chance."

They tensed but Sasuke stepped slightly forward. "We'll be ready to depart tomorrow morning at first light." The three executed pressed their right fists against their hearts before disappearing in puffs of smoke, the left a pink hue. Tsunade surmised that they had been clones; the real trio having never been in the office.

"But why?" Ise Nanao asked, pushing her glasses up her nose.

Tsunade looked at Kyoraku, who closed his one visible eyes. "If you know nothing else, Ise-san, know that Seireitei, outside of their barracks, is dangerous for all of my shinobi. For their own sake, they would not dare to even teleport here."

\/\/\/

 _You'll never know the psychopath sitting next to you._

 _You'll never know the murderer sitting next to you._

 _You'll think, "How'd I get here, sitting next to you?"_

 _But after all I've said,_

 _Please don't forget._

\/\/\/

Kuchiki Byakuya was not one who enjoyed surprises or being caught off guard. He prided himself in thinking of every scenario, of anticipating every possible outcome. Such ways of thinking are what got him to where he stood in this moment.

But, nothing could have prepared him to find out the woman he had been seeing secretly for months would accompany him and Renji on the mission. They had been seeing each other at the same location by a lake in Rukongai for more than a year's time. But, in the past four months, she had stopped responding to his requests to meet.

At first, he thought she had simply been away on missions. But, he passed by their barracks to attend a meeting with Soi-Fong and Tsunade. Many of the shinobi sat out on the engawa, talking and fanning themselves, their masks firmly in place even on that warm day. But he knew her mask because no shinobi had the same mask. And she sat outside, sipping on a drink beneath the shade of a tree.

That night, when he called for her to meet, she did not respond.

It simultaneously angered and puzzled him. What happened? She never gave any indication that something was wrong with their arrangement. And he was not going to chase her or beg her for answers. Though, he had realized his changing feelings for her and hoped to eventually broach the subject of pursuing their relationship further.

So, what could he expect on this mission? He had never interacted with her outside of the context of their nightly encounters.

In the Material World, they received their Gigai from Urahara and promptly put them on. However, Sakura ran into the bathroom, saying she needed to make sure her makeup was still good.

"I'm sure it's fine," Yoruichi purred, following after her. "But I'm curious to know what makeup products you use."

Renji tried to lighten the mood by joking, "I guess we'll be waiting awhile."

And while it was a given that Byakuya wouldn't laugh, Sasuke and Naruto just glared at him.

\/\/\/

 _All my friends are heathens. Take it slow._

 _Wait for them to ask you who you know._

 _Please don't make any sudden moves._

 _You don't the half of the abuse._

\/\/\/

"Look, if we're going to do this mission successfully and without issue, you three have to lighten up," he argued. "We haven't done anything to deserve this treatment."

"You hear that, Teme? He says they're not at fault." He scoffed. "No Shinigami is ever at fault."

"What are you talking about?"

Sasuke turned his glare on Byakuya, who remained impassive. "Don't think we don't know. We all know about what you were doing. And did you get punished for it? Of course not."

Byakuya's brows furrowed. Was he referring to...?

"Hey, watch who you're talking to," Renji yelled. "Kuchiki-taichou would never do anything wrong."

The blonde laughed mockingly. "You mean you don't know?"

"Naruto-chan," Sakura said suddenly, appearing from the bathroom. Byakuya noticed her face was layered with makeup, making it seem almost porcelain, without the shine. This was unusual as she had never worn it in his presence before. "Instead of arguing, did you review our travel plans?"

He blinked owlishly and Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. "We had travel plans?"

A vein popped in her forehead. "I left you in charge of them, you idiot, because you insisted you could do it."

\/\/\/

 _We don't deal with outsiders very well._

 _They say newcomers have a certain smell._

 _You have trust issues, not to mention._

 _They say they can smell your intentions._

\/\/\/

Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi were not what Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke had expected. They were aware that both had were ex-Shinigami and anticipated them making the whole process difficult simply because they were there. But, in fact, they had been welcoming and open. Kisuke freely made jokes and told them silly and absurd stories while Yoruichi treated them the same way she treated Byakuya and Renji.

They had, mercifully, driven them to the boat they needed to take between Japan and China. Once on the mainland, they would have to abandon their Gigai and move by foot through the rural area.

On the boat, they decided sleeping arrangements. Thankfully, they decided to keep the trio together, away from the taichou and fukutaichou. It wasn't that Sakura didn't trust them necessarily. But she knew her teammates would be pissed if the five of them mixed together in one space for so long. She sat on the bed near the window, marveling at the pure darkness of the sea. Sasuke was showering and Naruto, without a doubt, had joined him.

An origami crane fluttered across the porthole window. She squeezed her eyes closed. He was called for her. And, this time, she couldn't just ignore him. He would eventually corner her on this mission if she didn't talk to him now.

\/\/\/

 _You'll never know the freakshow sitting next to you_

 _You'll have some weird people sitting next to you_

 _You'll think, "How did I get here, sitting next to you?"_

 _But after all I've said,_

 _Please don't forget._

\/\/\/

"You've been avoiding me."

"For safety reasons."

He didn't say anything as he stood in front of the rail at the front of the boat, the wind blowing his hair back behind him.

Sakura moved slowly to stand next to him. But, he couldn't see her face, hiding behind the curtain pink locks. She usually wore her hair up in a ponytail, both to keep it from getting in her eyes and because she liked it when he pulled on it during the intimate moments. This, told him that something had changed between them.

"Okay. Maybe... it wasn't purely for safety," she said quietly.

"You should have said something."

"What could I possibly say?' She turned her head only enough for her to catch him in her peripherals. "Byakuya, we can't even share the same living accommodations. Us mingling, even on this mission... people were talking before we left.

"Let them talk."

She scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You're one of the Four Noble Families."

He straightened. "Then be mine."

Instead of a positive reaction, like he had expected. She instead dropped her head forward, arms hugging her body. "They would crucify me, Byakuya. I heard Sasuke and Naruto talking to you while I was in the bathroom at Urahara's. They were right. Shinigami never get punished for anything that happens between us and you."

Byakuya contemplated her words and remembered what Sasuke had implied earlier that day. His fists tightened under his arms as he crossed them. "Sakura, look at me."

\/\/\/

 _All my friends are heathens. Take it slow._

 _Wait for them to ask you who you know._

 _Please don't make any sudden moves._

 _You don't know the half of the abuse._

\/\/\/

His eyes widened at the jagged, bumpy scar that split her cheek, running from the left corner of her mouth halfway up through her cheek.

"Someone found out," she said quietly, closing her eyes, "someone who despises Shinigami to their core more than the rest of us. They cornered me, at night while others were asleep and punished me by cutting my face like this. They figured I wouldn't be able to see you again if my face was... deformed. They were going to do more but... thankfully Sasuke and Naruto came looking for me."

Her finger tips almost brushed the scar, but she dropped her hand instead. "Tsunade-shizuo had to sew it up. But the healing was rough because of where it is."

His hand reached out to touch her face. But she stepped back, turning to face the water again. He didn't drop his hand for a couple beats, still processing, still thinking.

"I... I get it. We're killers. All of us. I mean, after all, you'll never know the sort of things we have to do just to prove our worth. Tsunade may be the Commander of our Division. But she has no control over the protocol that Soi-Fong sets in place, or what happens between us, one another." She hugged her arms. "You have no idea what kind of murderer you chose to lay with."

"Then tell me."

Slowly, she looked back at him.

And he stared back just as confidently as when he first approached her with the intention of seducing her.

\/\/\/

 _Why'd you come? You knew you should have stayed._

 _I tried to warn you just to stay away._

 _And now they're outside ready to bust._

 _It looks like you might be one of us._

\/\/\/

"After missions, we're required to be locked up in a separate section in the Nest of Maggots. The length of time were locked up differs depending on the type of mission and if it was deemed a success or not. Being in the Nest of Maggots as a Shinigami drives even the most sane, freely-roaming prisoners to madness. Being in the Nest of Maggots as a chakra-user, locked and chain up in a cell, drives even the most sane of us to psychotic breaks. The point is to keep you from killing anyone, including yourself and your comrades as you desensitize from your mission. But it's also to make sure you stay crazy enough to not care how you decapitate your next assigned kill."

He remained quiet.

"I've killed many people - both souls and living people. Not all were for the good of Soul Society." She gripped the railing in her hands, dropping her head between her elbows. "This mission we're on... we're going to kill and I'll probably have to sleep with someone. The things we have to do... it takes priority over whatever you need to do."

"Let me help you," he said quietly, taking one of her hands.

"I can't let you do that. I'm sorry."

"Then... we'll leave."

Her eyes widened. "They'll find us."

"I have secret places and establishments here, in the Material World."

"Your Clan needs you."

"My grandfather can still rule and groom another."

"I can't abandon Sasuke and Naruto. They're my brothers. They'll crucify them for letting me leave with you."

"We'll bring them with us."

"Your Division... your fukutaichou..."

"Nothing will make me say no, Sakura." He cupped her scarred cheek and kissed her. "We can run after this mission. We will run. Abarai will have us covered."

"You told him."

He nodded sharply. "We'll make sure they can't find us."

She stepped into the circle of his arms, pressing her face against his chest. "Promise?"

He hummed.


	17. XVII - The New Kuchiki Lady

**XVII - The New Kuchiki Lady**

They were taking a trip up to Sapporo all the way from Nagasaki, where his Clan's house was. They were going to take a luxury liner first up into Hakodate and then a rental car up into Sapporo. As much as the trip was to celebrate their one year anniversary by sightseeing and touring the city, it was also to escape the responsibilities of being the next Head and Lady of the Clan.

Not that his father or mother were really concerned about the couple. Sojun, ever friendly with his son's wife, grinned when he heard about their trip. "Ah, making the great escape. I hope you two plan to come back." And he winked.

But she frowned. "Why wouldn't we?"

He shrugged, tucking some hair behind his head. "When Namina and I married, we had thought about running away. Not that I truly think my son would willingly abandon the Clan. But, you never quite know what he has all planned."

"You and Namina came back though."

"This is true. But, it's always scary having the realization about what you're walking into when it's not tangible. My wife also came from a small family, not of money." He looked into her emerald green eyes, his eyes reminding her so much of her husband's. "She wanted me to let you that she is always here for you to talk to if you get overwhelmed.

"Please tell her I said thank you."

Somehow, the paparazzi had caught wind of them heading to the train station and people were stationed outside of the grounds of the property at the early hour, snapping pictures left and right. It made sense now that Namina had been so insistent on making sure Sakura looked photo ready, even though they were going on the train. She wore a red crop top and black midi skirt that hugged her hips and legs.

On the train, in their private room, it seemed her husband had some rather intimate plans for her. Their room had a queen-sized bed, a small dresser with a mirror on it, a two-seater couch and even a small bathroom with an attached shower head in it. Sakura had shed her jacket and shoes, flopping back on the bed. "So, it's so soft."

Byakuya only hummed.

She looked over to find him sitting on the couch, typing furiously on his phone, no doubt typing out an email to some coworker. After he hit the send button, she snatched the device from him. He blinked at his hands and then at her before his brows barely furrowed. "Sakura."

"It's our anniversary. You said no Clan business and no work."

"Our anniversary is tomorrow. And there are things that still need my attention."

She rolled her eyes and chucked his phone on the bed. In the same second, she whipped off her shirt and slid her her skirt off. Byakuya only raised a brow at her.

"It seems I have to entice you somehow away from your phone and emails." She flicked her hair back of her shoulders, hooding her eyes, and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "Don't think I didn't notice you pack the rope and restraints in our suitcase."

His hand immediately pulled her down to straddle his lap, finding purchase on her backside since she only wore a deep maroon thong with matching quarter-cup lace bra. Her rosy nipples pebbled as he began to nibble on her neck and work his way up her chin, almost touching her lips. But she pulled away and stood, unzipping the suitcase a little.

He smirked as her cheeks flushed red. "Fine. You have my attention."

\/\/\/

They walked to the dining car around lunch time after napping. He kept a hand on her lower back while she walked with a loose, black button-down dress on that belted at the waist, emphasizing her hourglass figure. He wore cream-colored pants and blazer with a sky-blue blazer. Her breathing was soft and shallow, hitching every so often. Before they entered the dining car, he kissed the back of her hand, whispering he was proud of her.

Part of her had been concerned that, because they were a high-profile couple, other people on the train would recognize them and try to invade their space. It was especially concerning since their security detail was planning to meet them at their destination. But Byakuya assured her that everyone who rode on the train was too engrossed in their own importance and money to be bothered with them.

They found a small table in the corner, private and out of the view of most of the other patrons in the car. As they sat, she gave a small gasp, easing into her chair and shifting to get comfortable. He raised a brow but she bit her bottom lip, shaking her head. He reached into his pocket, seemingly looking for something and her mouth fell open.

Before the came to the dining car, he had tied her body with rope, securing a small device against her clitoris. It simulated someone performing cunnilingus on her. Along with that, he eased a vibrator inside her. It was custom made to look like his cock - thick and veiny.

A waitress came over with menus and Sakura tried to control herself, even as the devices worked in tandem. If Byakuya let them continue at this speed, she would cum soon. The woman left and walked away to tend to the other patrons. Sakura's hands shook as she attempted to read the menu, but he reached in his pocket again to lower the vibrator but raise the one on her clit.

She whimpered softly, fighting the urge to spread her legs.

"Are you okay, my wife?" he said softly.

"Yes," she breathed slowly, squeezing her thighs together instead. The device rolled her clit around in slow torturous, vibrating circles and patterns. She could feel her wetness leaking around the vibrator and soaking into the ropes.

"Pick something to eat. I know you're hungry."

"I... I can't choose," she said as evenly as she could as a couple sat behind her, laughing and talking. He noticed, barely glancing at them. "All the food sounds good."

"Do you need me to choose?"

The clit device began to massage her clit in torturous patterns. She wasn't expecting it and gasped, "Yes," in a lusty voice before dipping her head down. He barely smirked and waved the waitress over to put their order in.

"It'll be right out," the waitress said and bowed.

He finally lowered the vibrations of the device to a low buzz that she could handle. As she tried to catch her breath, he reached over to take her hand. "I apologize," he said. "I was, perhaps, a bit too excited."

"It's okay," she said and then smiled. "It's... exciting."

He smirked after a second. "Is it?"

She had discreetly slipped off her heel and propped her foot up on his seat between his legs. Her toes found his semi-erection, massaging and flexing against the organ against his thigh. It twitched and she bit her lip, putting more pressure on it. He reached down and pressed her foot harder against his erection, thrusting against her foot. But then he moved her foot and folded his leg over the other.

"It seems I have to be careful with you, my dangerous wife."

She giggled and brushed his knee with her foot before slipping it back in her shoe.

"Sakura?"

The couple looked up to see who had dared to call her name without any honorific and her mouth dropped open. "G-G-Genma?"

His deep brown eyes smiled at her recognition. "It's good to see you again."

"Uh, yeah. G-Genma, this is my husband, Kuchiki Byakuya. Byakuya, this is… a friend of mine from a while ago."

The brunette chuckled and shook Byakuya's hand firmly. "Don't let her be modest. I'm one of her ex-boyfriends."

"Oh?"

Her face brightened in embarrassment. "Genma, please."

"But we ended on an amicable note. Mind if I join you two for lunch? I can pay for our meals."

"Sakura?" Byakuya asked.

She really didn't want Genma to join them. But they had no viable reason do deny his question, even though her husband was clearly not comfortable with him staying. His tone told her to say no. But she knew Genma. "Um, sure. Why not?" She flashed both of them a strained smile.

Genma smiled back and pulled a chair up from another table. "Thank you. Good thing I ordered my food already."

Byakuya gave her a look across the table and she looked away. The devices between her legs went still.

\/\/\/

Back in their room, the train pulled into a station in downtown Tokyo and Byakuya locked the door behind them, trying not to slam it closed. "You should have said no."

"How could I?"

He gave her a look and she sighed, sitting on the door of the bed.

"I know I could have said we're on our anniversary trip. But, he wouldn't have cared and would have still insisted he eat with us. He's the type of person too engrossed in his own importance."

Byakuya watched as she dropped her head down, resting her elbows on her thighs and linking her fingers together. This was a pose of defeat, resignation, exhaustion. A pose that provided uncertain stability. He moved to stand in front of her and tipped her chin up. Her eyes told him that she had been traveling through memories. "What happened with him?"

"He... he was very dominant in our relationship and in bed. I was... okay with it until I felt like it was too much. He wanted me to do things sexually that I wasn't ready for. I made it seem like I wanted other things that he couldn't give me so I could leave. He was... cordial about the breakup."

Byakuya paused and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. "Do I make you do things you're not ready for?"

She shook her head and grabbed his hand tightly. "Never. You suggest things and listen when I tell you no or why I want to do it slowly."

"He didn't do those things?"

"No, he just kept pressuring me until I gave in. I would cave because I thought maybe I actually wanted those things. And, it always turned out that I didn't." She stood and pulled his shirt out from his pants, her warm touch sliding against his abs underneath. "But I now know what I want, when I want it."

Byakuya stood still as she made quick work of his pants and cupped him through his boxer briefs. For being married for a year, and together for five years, she knew his body too well. She knew where to squeeze, tease, and rub. He was hard in almost seconds and hissed softly when her hand slipped in, palm to skin. He reached into his pocket and flipped the switches on the devices. She gasped as they came back to life, squeezing her legs together.

If anyone else even caught whiff of the things they did behind closed doors, they would loudly question Sakura's sanity and all that she stood for. It wasn't the intimate relations they would question. It would be her submissive nature in the bedroom. Sakura was a very feminist and open-minded person, all about rights, equity, and so on. She'd even fought his advisors when they told her she would be expected to have a boy as her first born to pass on the role of the Kuchiki Head. She damn-near tore them all a new one in explaining that even if she had a girl first, that girl would be trained to be the next Head, no matter what.

But she needed this. She needed him to dominate her in the bedroom, or wherever they made their space. She liked when he tied her up with rope and used toys, like he had done earlier. Or when he made her suck on his cock like now, gently thrusting into her mouth. He was never rough or mean or degrading about what they did. He always did things with a purpose - to fulfill her needs, to make sure she was taken care of, to love her.

During lunch, when Sakura had excused herself to use the bathroom - which was to really splash water on her face, Byakuya had questioned Genma about his reasons for riding on the luxury liner. He had admitted that he was visiting family in Wakkanai, the northernmost shores of mainland Japan, and to do some marketing event. Byakuya didn't really care. But Genma revealed that he had booked a bedroom that just so happened to be next to theirs.

Byakuya was a man of decorum and believed that people should see him a certain way, particularly the same way people view people of high status - abstinent and removed from the ills that plagued the middle and lower classes. Yes, his wife had schooled him on various occasions on why his thinking was flawed. But, in this instance, he didn't actually care who may have heard him pleasuring his wife so well, especially if that meant a certain Shiranui Genma heard her lusty moans and begs for more.

Let him hear how much Kuchiki Sakura begged for her husband's cock. Let him hear how many time she screamed in ecstasy as her slick, inner muscles convulsed around him. Let that nuisance and failure of a man hear the way another successfully pleasured "the one who got away".

\/\/\/

Sakura smiled over her shoulder as Byakuya kissed her spine and the back of her neck. Her husband was no overly affectionate in public and even in their day to day. But after such vulnerable and passionate love making, even he could not help but be touchy and loving. She didn't grudge her husband his lack of affectionate gestures. Because that's part of the reason why she loved him.

She stood and slipped the black dress back on, sans underwear, offering to get them a pot of coffee and a menu for the dinner service. He stayed under the sheets, immediately hugging her pillow.

Out in the hall, she was surprised to see Genma striding down the car towards her. She tried to offer a small smile. "Genma-san."

He looked up at her, almost startled, and his cheeks flamed red. "S-Sakura-san." He cleared his throat. "W-W-Where are you off to?"

"Just to grab some coffee for me and my husband. I hope you're enjoying the train ride."

Genma cleared his throat again, mumbling something incoherent before running off past her. She could only cock her head and wonder what had him in such a rush.

Sakura merely shrugged it off and walked to the dining car.

\/\/\/

Of course Byakuya had booked them a honeymoon suite on the top floor at an upscale hotel. The bathroom even had a spa tub that could fit the both of them comfortably with a bucket of ice and champagne on the side of it. The suite even had a small dining table with a full kitchen.

"What do we need a full kitchen for?"

"We're staying for two weeks."

"Do you plan on cooking that often?"

He hummed, scrolling through something on his phone and then frowning.

"Byakuya."

He typed out a response to whomever as she directed one of their bodyguards them to put their bags in the bedroom. The man asked if there was anything else they would need and she smiled, telling him no. Byakuya sat on the couch and she sat next to him, pulling out her phone.

Her husband perked up as she said, "Moshi moshi, Sojun-sama... Yes, we did just get in... Yes, the hotel is absolutely wonderful and thank you so much for help Byakuya-kun pick such a wonderful spot. I just have one little request while we're here for the next two weeks."

"Sakura..." Byakuya warned.

"Please shut off Byakuya's access to his emails on his phone. Disconnect the phone. Do whatever you have to do. I would really prefer to not spend our anniversary vacation with only half of his attention on me and us... Thank you so much, Sojun-sama." With that, she hung up.

Byakuya stared at her, steel grey gaze hard. But his breathing remained even as she returned his hard look. "Sakura-" "Is it honestly too much to ask to want your husband to focus on spending time with you and ignore Clan responsibilities?"

"I am to be the next Head."

"And I'm supposed to be the next Lady. But, at least I have the decency to focus on what short time alone we have. We're only going to have these two weeks completely alone without someone following us around all the fucking time or some advisor trying to tell me when to walk and who to wave to."

"I understand that-"

"But you don't," she yelled, jumping to her feet. "We had such a wonderful and relaxing time on the train after we left Kyoto. But as soon as we got out of the shower, you were back on your phone. I thought maybe you'd eventually put it down. But I had to beg you as we waited for our rental car for you to put it down. Your mother told me to enjoy this time with you because, afterwards, we'd never know how soon again we'd have time to ourselves. But it's like you've brought the Estate with us."

With that, she turned and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door closed.

\/\/\/

Sakura sat on the bed, angry and upset for about fifteen minutes before she laid down on the expansive bed and fell asleep. She hadn't slept well during the night on the train before the noise and it being an unfamiliar space. After getting into Sapporo in the afternoon, going through the car rental process, getting to the hotel, it was just after ten in the evening and she was exhausted. Could she sentence her husband to sleep on the couch on the first night? Wouldn't that bring bad luck for the rest of their anniversary trip?

And since she stormed into the bedroom, she hadn't heard from him. He didn't try to come after her, he didn't beg for her forgiveness, nothing. But it didn't really surprise her. He wasn't one to follow after when someone ran away. In his mind, it made more sense for him to give that person space until they were ready to confront him again. Byakuya also never allowed himself the sort of vulnerability that came with chasing after someone and revealing the thoughts and feelings behind his actions.

Wiping the dried tears from her face, she quietly opened the bedroom door and saw only the kitchen light on. The hotel was silent and Byakuya was nowhere to be found, not even on the balcony. Had he left? Was she asking for too much when she told his father to stop with the emails/ She reached for her phone to call him, but noticed he had left his phone.

Her eyes began to water. Was he telling her she had won but he was leaving? Her breath came in shallow pants. It was beyond irrational to believe her husband had left her alone in a hotel room over something as silly as attending to Estate emails. But her thoughts could not stop swirling. He hadn't left her a note or anything to tell her where he'd gone.

The front door beeped with the sound of someone using the key card. She spun to see her husband walking in with a large paper bag in his hand. He stopped as the door closed behind him, both watching each other.

Sakura sniffled softly, wiping her cheeks with the backs of her hands. "Where... Where did you go?" she asked softly, voice thick.

"...I bought dinner."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

His brows furrowed, no doubt wondering what linguistic trap she was laying, not that she was trying to lay one intentionally. "You were sleeping. I didn't want to bother you."

"Oh."

He moved to the couch in the living room, her following few steps behind. He set the paper bag down and took the throw blanket off the back of the couch to drape around her shoulders. Her emerald eyes were wide as he bundled her and pressed a quick kiss between her brows.

"Byakuya?"

He turned on and dimmed the living room lights before returning to her side and pulling out containers from the paper bag. "I remembered our first date and that you had suggested an American burger joint. Luckily for me, I found a similar place a couple streets from here."

She sat as she cheeks flushed and she giggled a bit, her fingers touching the space between her brows. He had kissed her in the same spot that date night too. "You thought you could eat burgers with a fork and knife."

Byakuya chucked and handed her a container. "But you taught me."

"Me and my common woman knowledge."

"You are not common," she said softly, sitting next to her and avoiding her gaze.

She let his words linger between them. "Why didn't you take your phone, Byakuya?"

"It seemed more important to leave it than take it with me."

The container made a noise as her grip tightened on it, trying to stay steady. "I... thought you left. I mean, to leave me."

His head whipped around. "Why would I do that?"

"I... I don't know." Her eyes began to water and she hated that her mind wanted to react this way. "I thought I had overstepped. You're so serious about becoming the Kuchiki Head, and rightfully so. I mean, you've spent your whole life being told that you were going to be this and it has such a meaningful impact on your life. It seems kind of silly now to think you'd left. But... in the moment..."

Byakuya didn't say anything for a while. Sakura thought maybe he wouldn't say anything. But he leaned back in the couch and wrapped a long arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side to press his lips against her hair. "I would have to be crazy to leave you here alone. You are my wife because I wanted you over the hundreds of omiai my father and advisors tried to force on me. I'd never willingly leave you."

She dropped her gaze and shakily opened the container. Inside, she found a cheeseburger with provolone cheese, bacon, a fried egg, and slices of avocado. "You remembered?"

"I believe you said something to the effect that if I couldn't handle your more ravenous eating habits, how could we hope to be a real couple."

"Right..."

He pulled out his own burger with pepper jack cheese, jalapeños, guacamole, and bacon. As he settled to eat, she pulled the throw blanket over him too. He kissed her temple and they watched the soft lights of the city below them.

\/\/\/

\/\/\/

Sakura whimpered a she squeezed her eyes shut. They were making the trip up to Sapporo again. This time, they rented a car from Noboribetsu instead of Hakodate. Byakuya had been sure to keep his phone on silent, only sounding if his parents called.

She had reclined her seat all the way back, as per her husband's instructions. But he also pushed a small pillow beneath her lower back for support. His head rested over the large swell of her belly before trailing down to manually increase the intensity on the vibrator plus clit bud device. His wife almost always needed her clit touched in order to orgasm. It wasn't that his skills weren't good; her body was just wired to need that stimulation.

Her legs were spread wide, almost in a lotus position. Her smooth and bare pussy was his to visually feast on. He could see her muscles clenching over the silicone device while her swollen clit twitched.

"Byakuya," she begged, breathless, her hand gripping his elbow as her hips began to gyrate and raise.

"Are you close?"

"So close," she begged. "I..."

He reached down and pressed the clitoral attachment harder in place. She cried out and arched her back. The device slipped out as her juices seeped out with the muscles contracted and convulsed.

She relaxed in the seat, her arms above her head as she stretched her legs out.

"You should nap," he said, raising her seat so she was more upright, but still reclined. "We still have some time before we reach the hotel."

She hummed, cupping her belly. "Does the midwife know about us coming up here?"

"We won't be here long. We're only here for five days before we head back."

"They're just sitting low on my hips, that's all," she hissed, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"Worried?"

She smiled. "How could I possibly be worried when my loving husband is here with me? Things are going well at the Estate and we have twins on the way. I'm glad we're going back just for the memories."

He hummed and kissed her knuckles before letting her rest.


	18. XVIII - The Festival

**XVIII - The Festival**

Sakura had dressed in a navy blue kimono with a golden obi and red and white inlays of carnations around the hems of the sleeves and around her waist. It was a beautiful kimono that Byakuya had given to her as a gift for the new year. In all her years, both alive and in Soul Society, she had never owned such a beautiful and intricate kimono. She had cried when he led her to his bedroom and presented the dress to her, touched by his generosity.

She waited patiently in front of an alley by a food stall for him to arrive. There was a large festival happening in all the districts that could afford to host it. Byakuya told her to meet her in the First Northern District as he was finishing up paperwork in his office in the Sixth Division. She had wound her hair up in a messy bun with an ornate comb keeping it in place. Except for the diamond on her forehead, no one readily recognized her because she used a genjutsu to change her hair brown and her eyes a lavender color. She was nervous about being outside and meeting Byakuya.

Though, any other Shinigami who passed might have recognized her by the zanpakuto strapped to her back. While she did not hold it in her hand, the tattoos shifted lazily over her shoulders, throat, and stomach. No one could see them moving, but she could feel them.

 _Intoyo no Ryu, please be still,_ she asked in her mind.

 ** _I apologize. It's difficult to be still when I can feel your anxiety, whether you acknowledge it or not._**

She frowned, though barely so as not to bring attention to herself. Having another entity in her mind definitely had its downsides when he was aware of what was happening to her internally. It reminded her so much of Inner Sakura, but more rational and logical.

 _I'm fine. I'm not anxious._

 ** _We may not have been together as long as some of the other elite Shinigami. But I know you well enough, Sakura-sama. You're nervous about being seen in public with Kuchiki-sama._**

Very few people knew about Sakura and Byakuya being together. Rukia and Renji knew, only because the couple had returned from an outing earlier than expected and found Byakuya and Sakura enjoying a meal together in one of the many gardens on the Kuchiki Estate. They tried to play it off but Rukia and Renji were far too nosy and far to perceptive of Byakuya to accept an excuse such as friendship. Byakuya, according to them, did not have friends. Though Sakura was sure neither realized Byakuya considered them at least close companions; they had both warned her that he meant a lot to them.

 _"I'm not just saying this as his fukutaichou and his brother-in-law," Renji said, crossing his arms. "We don't know what exactly your relationship is with him, but be careful with him."_

 _"I highly doubt he needs to be treated like a porcelain figure," Sakura argued gently._

 _"Maybe not him physically, but his heart does," Rukia said. "Nii-sama is strong in every sense of the word. But, it has been a long time since Nii-sama has shown interest in another woman."_

 _"We've both lost the person we loved," Sakura said softly. "My aim is not replace the woman he put everything on the line for, just as he cannot replace the man who loved me despite my flaws and faults. I will gladly take whatever place I can in his heart, should there be room for me. I'm not looking for deep commitment or even marriage. As long as I can be next to him, that's all I care for."_

 _The couple blinked. "Really?"_

 _Sakura smiled and stood as Byakuya opened the door to the room they sat in. Their faces turned red. "Yes, really."_

Sakura had also helped Rukia with the birth of her daughter, Ichika, who was born with a full head of scarlet hair because Sakura happened to be at the Estate and Rukia's labor was progressing too quickly to get her to the Medical Station.

The only other person who suspected they were together was Isane, but she never said anything to pressure Sakura to reveal more.

A hand touched the small of her back and she gasped, whirling around. "Kuchiki-sama."

He raised a brow, slate grey eyes traveling down before meeting hers again. "What is the meaning of this?"

His tone wasn't harsh. But his confusion was apparent. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I… I got nervous. I don't know what people will think if they see us together. I don't want to… embarrass you or something."

Byakuya watched her for a couple beats, searching her face. And then he looked up, looking around. It wasn't until then that she noticed he had taken her hand, interlinking their fingers. Her eyes widened because he rarely held her hand so intimately, even in their private moments together.

And now they were out in public...

She raised her head to say something to him, but his lips descended onto hers, rough and passionate. Her face and neck, without a doubt, had turned red and she couldn't muster the brain power to respond to his kiss. Byakuya pulled back and with only centimeters between them, whispered, "Drop the disguise and I'll stop."

Stammering incoherently, she couldn't even process his words before he was kissing her again, petting her tongue with his own and cupping the back of her head to deepen the kiss. Her fingers twisted in the material of his baby blue jacket, whimpering. The concentration needed to keep the genjutsu activated jumped out the window without a parachute. Her eyes fluttered closed as her genjutsu fell and she wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his long locks.

But he pulled back and removed her arms. "Come."

She blinked as he took her hand and she frowned. "Did you just…?"

"Kiss you? Yes."

She saw the twinkle in his eye and a smile blossomed on her lips. Byakuya's sense of humor was subtle, though sometimes just plain nonexistent. But she loved his attempts to lighten the mood, no matter how poor they might have turned out.

She had never attended a festival in Rukongai before. She'd either been away on a mission or no one wanted to go with her. Rukia and Renji were taking three-year old Ichika with them and offered for the couple to tag along with them. But Byakuya didn't want to intrude on their family time. Sakura suspected he wasn't interested in spending time with his rambunctious niece.

But, she had caught him in his tender moments with her. She once found him sitting on the engawa outside of his office with her in his lap. The small girl was showing him all the different flowers she'd found in the garden. Sakura wondered if Ichika found him easier to approach when he didn't wear his Shinigami garbs because she'd never seen her with him when he wore his uniform.

Byakuya squeezed her hand, pulling her from her thoughts. "Hungry?"

She hummed. "Maybe a snack. Maybe some dango?"

He led her to the closest stall and ordered two sticks of dango. As they waited, she noticed subordinates from her division and his division passing by. Those from hers seemed to want to approach her, but noticed the Sixth Division captain with her. It was no secret that while the Sixth Division captain was quite handsome, he was also intimidating. And his subordinates definitely wanted to greet him but were confused by the presence of a woman next to him, whispering between each other. All of them, no doubt noticed them holding each other's hand.

He squeezed her hand. "Don't pay them attention."

"Sorry."

"We can return to the Estate."

"No, I'm fine. Honestly."

She knew her smile did nothing to assuage his worry for her. The attention was more than just what other Shinigami thought and might have said. Sakura had known they would be coming to the festival for weeks now, ever since someone had brought it up in the Medical Station. She hadn't gone before, not just because people didn't want to go with her and timing. She didn't want to go because a festival, similar to this, was the last happy thing she and Team 7 had done together before she and Sasuke went on their mission. Her dreams hadn't been nightmares necessarily. But more than once, Byakuya had woken her up because she'd been crying and begging in her sleep.

As Byakuya took the dango, her fingers traced the scar on her neck, a gesture that meant she was thinking about her previous life. In the last five years since her encounter with Sasuke, she'd done well in not thinking about her team and Konoha. Or, when she did, they were happy memories that didn't leave her feeling empty afterwards. So, she didn't touch her throat very often.

But the dreams had thrown her for an unexpected loop.

He passed her a dango stick and she adjusted the collar of her kimono, taking the stick with her other hand. "Let's go play some games."

He hummed. "I will watch."

She gave his a look, a smirk threatening to break through. "Is the ever stoic and formidable Kuchiki-taichou saying he can't handle a couple of games?"

"They are children's games."

"Then that means they should be easy for you to win." Now she grinned as he gave her a sidelong look. "Come on. At least do one game with me."

"You are not unlike Ichika in many ways."

She took his hand and pulled him along. "I will take that as a complement."

\/\/\/

"Dattebayo!"

Sakura's head whipped around as her ears caught the shouted phrase behind her. Two teenage boys stood at the stall with the fish in little bowls. The blonde boy proudly held up his catch in a plastic bag, grinning. "See, I told you I could catch it."

"It's just a fish, idiot," his brunette friend said, crossing his arms. "There's nothing special about catching a fish."

"Sakura."

The two boys walked off and she looked at Byakuya slowly. Neither said anything for a couple tense seconds. And then he presented her with a red panda stuffed animal. She smiled as her cheeks dusted a soft pink. "Thank you, Byakuya-kun."

He hummed.

"Don't worry. Wakame Taishi can finally have a companion next to him on the shelf."

"You will let me know if we need to return to the Estate."

"Of course."

Sakura tried her absolute hardest to enjoy the festival because she was finally doing something with her lover out in public. For once, she didn't have to sneak around to be with him. And she wanted to focus on that feeling.

But there were too many triggers happening around her. A blue-eyed platinum blonde with her hair up in a high ponytail. A brunette woman with twin buns on top of her head. A black-haired man with a particular bowl-like haircut. And a man with mask over his nose and mouth. And the voices. Within the crowd that the festival produced, certain voices and cadences caught her ear, and she found herself looking around more than usual to catch a glimpse of someone, of certain shinobi.

Spotting these people and hearing the voices had her mind spinning. She found herself asking Byakuya to repeat himself or almost wandering away from him. Those old, long-buried feelings of loss and grief surfaced again and she found herself hugging the red panda close to her body.

Byakuya took her by the shoulders before his hands cupped her face. "We're going back to the Estate."

The fight was on her tongue but she recognized that she could not realistically continue going on this way in the festival. She dropped her head. "I'm sorry."

"Do not apologize." He pecked her lips and took her hand.

"Sakura-chan."

She turned to see the strawberry blonde running up behind her, oblivious to the attention she was drawing from the men around her. "Rangiku-chan, I'm surprised to see you here."

She grinned. "I know. I wasn't even sure that we were going to come, quite honestly."

"We?"

"Yo." Hisagi strolled up behind her, wearing casual clothes, just like his date. But his aloof demeanor disappeared when he spotted a certain Kuchiki in the vicinity. "A-Ah, ohayo, Kuchiki-taichou."

Byakuya nodded to him and squeezed Sakura's hand. But before the pinkette could tell her friend they were leaving, she grabbed Sakura's other hand. "Come on, Sakura-chan. I hear they're going to start the fireworks soon. And, afterward, we can share a bottle of sake."

Sakura gave a soft smile. "Sorry, Ino-chan, I'm not feeling that well. But enjoy the fireworks and drinks for me, ne?"

No one said anything for a while and Rangiku even looked around. Byakuya's hold on her hand was tight. A bottomless feeling welled up inside of her because she knew something was wrong. "Sakura-chan, were... you called me Ino. Who's that?"

Her palms became sweaty and she plastered a clearly fake and distressed smile on her face. "I-I-I did? No, you must be mistaken. I called you Ran-chan."

"No, I definitely heard you call her Ino," Hisagi said.

Her heart hammered in her chest. What was happening to her?

Byakuya pulled her back, shielding her from the other two and only asked that they excuse them before walking away. Her mind was in a daze. How could she have possibly mistaken Rangiku with Ino? What was she thinking? Had she been thinking at all? Her body started to feel warm and her skin prickled in her discomfort. The backs of her eyes stung and, as they pushed their way through the crowd, she couldn't figure out why the tears fell down her cheeks.

 ** _You know what you have to do._**

 _I shouldn't..._

 ** _It's the only way you'll find peace._**

\/\/\/

She slid the bedroom shogi door closed in silence. Byakuya was not a heavy sleeper, though he had not moved as she got up from their shared futon and got dressed. Even if he was pretending to sleep, she hoped he understood the kiss she left on his cheek to mean that she would return. But Intoyo no Ryu was right in his assessment of what was happening to her. Somewhere in her subconscious, she was aware of how much time had passed since she last visited Konoha. And, since her awareness surfaced at the same time they went to the festival...

Sakura gasped when she spotted Byakuya's grandfather, Ginrei, sitting on the engawa not far from their bedroom. He sipped on a cup of tea, the pot next to him on a towel. "G-Ginrei-sama..."

"I won't pretend to know where you're going. But understand that I will not tolerate you abandoning my grandson."

She bowed deeply. "Of course, Ginrei-sama. My intention was always to return."

He hummed softly, sipping. "I hope you can resolve this imbalance that is happening within you. He worries over you, even when you are not by his side. You no doubt know of his late wife."

"Hai."

Ginrei was quiet and Sakura dared not to move.

"My grandson was deeply affected by her passing, as you know. Don't let him lose himself again worrying over what is happening to you."

"Wakarimashita, Ginrei-sama."

\/\/\/

Sakura knew the laws of the Soul Society and Seireitei. They had been beaten into her while she attended the Academy. But none of the laws said anything about using a Gigai to reveal themselves to someone of their past, if they had been born in the Material World. But, then again, she wasn't sure how many people in Seireitei could remember their previous lives in they had been born in the Material World. In the middle of the night, Urahara Kisuke had been more than willing to give her a small little pill that, when used, gave her a portable Gigai that she could use how she wanted.

 _"I understand your intentions, Haruno-san. Though, I caution you to consider what effect you might have on revealing yourself as you are to those you knew, if they're still alive. No matter what explanation you give or how much they say they understand, consider the lasting effects on your visit."_

And Urahara was, of course, correct in his warning. Sakura stood in front of the tree, her memorial tree, as she deemed it. The little shrine remained intact still at the base, though overgrown with moss and weeds again. She crouched down to gently reveal its presence, feeling a sense of oneness in the forest. As she stood, she looked once more at the carving of her and Sasuke's name in the tree. It had been freshly carved again, meaning a certain someone had been here recently.

She took a deep shaky breath and blew it out slowly. It wasn't too late to turn back and just return to bed with Byakuya.


	19. XIX - Visiting Hour

**XIX - Visiting Hour**

It was nighttime, in the early morning hours to be exact. It seemed like he was the only one awake in the whole village.

Boruto and Himawari were out on missions with their teams. Shikamaru had told him not to worry; both were strong chunin and would be fine. They had done dozens of chunin-level missions before and this one was no different. Hinata had expressed the same sentiments this morning over breakfast.

But sometimes, he wondered if both of them forgot the things they had gone thru - the wars, the battles, the missions where they lost people dear to them...

He looked at the old and aged photograph on his desk, holding it in his hand. His intention in staying late in the office was to do work to take his mind off his children being out there in the world. He tried to not think about the fact that he'd left his wife, once again, alone in their house.

It had been so many years now since he'd lost his two best friends. A simple mission gone horribly wrong. He remembered when the jonin from the gates had come to him and Kakashi, presenting the headbands that a stranger had left. He remembered the bottomless and empty feeling that had overwhelmed him before fear seized him. He didn't tell Kakashi to follow him, much less demand to know who the stranger had been. He just left.

He knew the route that they would have taken to travel to and from their destination village. Within the day, he'd found them, found their bodies.

His hand squeezed the picture frame as he bit his thumb, drawing blood. He thought he'd gotten over it. He thought he was better now. But it was these moments when he was alone like this when they resurfaced with a vengeance. Hinata had happened upon him a couple of times as he drowned in these feelings and he was well aware that he sometimes scared her by pushing her away. But that's why his wife was amazing, because she never took it personal for what he felt, when he felt it.

But, in this moment, he was alone.

No one to distract him. No one to comfort him.

"Didn't know you still bit your thumb, Naruto-chan. I told you it was a bad habit."

His cerulean eyes widened at the person who stood before him, leaning against the door frame. The picture clattered to the wooden floor as he shot to his feet. "S... Sakura... chan..."

She wore her red qipao with the tan obi around her waist, black shorts with kunai holster, her pink elbow and knee guards, and her black gloves. Her hair was longer and her red headband was missing. But her smile was gentle and soft, just like he remembered. "Ohayo, Naruto-kun."

But his fists clenched and his brows furrowed, stamping down the surprise and happiness that tried to gush forth. "No, you're not here."

She blinked, standing up straight. "What do you mean?"

He screwed his eyes shut, pressing a hand against his forehead as he visibly clenched his teeth. "You're not real. You're just another hallucination. Fuck, this hasn't happened in almost a year."

"Ah, I see."

And then she was suddenly standing next to him. He jumped back, not expecting it. But he watched as she bent over to pick up the picture frame from the floor, admiring. "It's been so long, hasn't it? I still remember this day, when we took the photo and when we retook it after we brought Sasuke-kun back."

He was surprised to see tears welling in her eyes as she looked up at him, a sad smile on her lips. "Sakura-chan..."

"I wish I still had this photo. I wish I had this sort of momento to take with me."

"Take with you where?"

But she didn't answer him and, instead, set the frame down gently on his desk before turning to face him. He flinched when she reached towards his face and froze as she cupped his cheek. "You've got wrinkles," she whispered.

He scoffed softly. If this hallucination was planning on staying, he would just have to roll with it. At least Shikamaru and Hinata weren't with him this time. "You haven't aged a day."

She didn't laugh at his jab and her hand traveled up to ruffle his hair. "You're getting grey hair."

"Yeah, Kakashi won't leave me alone about it."

"Kakashi? Do you see him often?"

Naruto shrugged. "Things are... strained between us."

"Why?"

He slapped her hand way suddenly. "I shouldn't have to explain this to a figment of my imagination. You're not even fucking real. Why won't you and Sasuke just fucking leave me alone already?" He dropped into his chair, sobbing into his palms. He pressed his knuckles against his eyes, begging, pleading for her to go away. His heart couldn't handle it. His mind couldn't handle it.

Thin arms wrapped around his shoulder, a warm cheek pressing against his back. "I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun. I didn't know you were still hurting so much."

"You and Sasuke were my family. I loved Sasuke with everything in me. And I loved you like a sister, Sakura-chan. You two were all I wanted in my life and I was okay with the way things were. The village was learning to trust him again. Sasuke was learning to open up to me. And you were learning to love Kakashi." His fists tightened and he hissed, "And then it was all taken away from me."

Sakura didn't say anything for a while but her hold tightened around him. He wiped his eyes and sniffled, but neither moved. It was fine with him. This was unusual, for his hallucination to touch him and seem to real. But it was fine.

"You carved our names into the tree."

"...Yeah..."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." She sniffled and then he felt her tears through the back of his clothes. "You don't know how much it means to me that you keep carving our names in the tree. And that you still have our team photos. When I left this world, I... I had nothing. I was nothing. I had nightmares for months. It was so hard."

Naruto slowly sat up, looking at the pink-haired woman that stood beside him. And his own tears started to fall, his breath short and shallow. "You're... you're not a hallucination, are you?"

Sakura crouched and took his hand, squeezing. "I don't know why you and Kakashi aren't getting along. But if it has anything to do with our deaths, please, talk to him. Don't let me be the reason why you lose Kakashi too. Life is too short and you only have each other before it's all over."

"I... I tried to kill myself before, not long after your funeral," he said quietly. "Sai and Kakashi thankfully found me. But it was hard on them, wondering if I was going to try it again. When I became Hokage, they backed off. But I can see the way they watch me sometimes, even now when they think I'm not watching. My kids... thankfully don't know. But..."

He took a deep breath. "Now, Kakashi can't stand my hallucinations. He says it's too much for him to handle emotionally, especially after so long. I know he misses you too, Sakura-chan, even though he has Naomi. He told me..." He looked down at their hands. "He said he was going to tell you he loved you when you returned."

Her eyes widened before she smiled sadly. "Naruto-kun, don't be upset anymore. Please. All of us knew what we signed up for when we decided to be shinobi. Just remember that Sasuke and I love both you and Kakashi and we want you to remember the good times, like the last festival we went to. Don't imagine our last moments."

"Were you scared?" he whispered, his grip tightening around her fingers.

"Only scared of being caught. We did what we had to. Not a moment goes by that I don't think about Konoha and everyone we left behind. But, we have to live with our decisions."

"Is Sasuke with you?"

"...Not anymore. We... ran into some trouble... after everything." She stood. "I have to leave now."

Naruto shot to his feet. "Will I see you again?"

Sakura gave him a sad smile. "Probably not."

They watched each other for a couple seconds before he said, "I want you to take something back with you."

\/\/\/

Kakashi was surprised to see the blonde Hokage on his doorstep. "Naruto-kun. Still getting grey, I see."

"Just because you were born with grey hair doesn't mean you get to tease me about getting old, you old pervert."

"I'm sure you didn't come here just to harass me," he chuckled.

At this, Naruto sobered, looking down at his feet, fists clenched at his sides. According to Konohamaru, Boruto would do the same thing when he was experiencing certain feelings. "I came to apologize, Kakashi."

His visible eye widened. "Apologize?"

"I know... I know things have been... strained between us. I know I'm the reason for it, because of my... hallucinations and everything else. I'm sorry I lashed out at you before and said I didn't care. I know things have been difficult on you too."

Kakashi was, for once, at a loss for words on how to address the blonde. Naruto, surely, had had many mature moments, especially after he married the Hyuuga heiress and then had Boruto and Himawari. But, _this_ was a whole other Naruto he was dealing with.

Naruto made a face as Kakashi poked him in the stomach with his cane. "I'm not a clone, Kakashi."

"Can't say I didn't double check. Well, I... honestly, I don't know what to say."

He grinned. "Actually, I really actually came to ask you for a copy of our team photos."

"A copy?"

"Yeah, I... well, something happened to the one I kept on my desk. I've been looking for it for days now. And it seems like I'll never find it. I'm sure Boruto did something with it and I just don't have the energy to fight with him on it."

"Sure. Come in. Let me see where I put them. I hope Naomi didn't try to put them in the attic or something."

"By the way, Kakashi," Naruto said as he stepped inside the house, "Sakura said she loved you too."

The grey-haired man stopped short and slowly turned to look at him, tears stuck to the blonde's cheeks. "What did you say?"

"Sakura visited me last night. And not my hallucinations. She... she was there and she wanted me to let you know that she loved you and she's happy that you've found happiness again."

* * *

Byakuya woke to the bed space empty next to him. He had felt and heard when Sakura left. He had never been a heavy sleeper and had immediately awoken as she attempted to slide quietly out of bed. But he didn't stop her. He knew the festival had been difficult for her and, somewhere inside him, he knew that she would leave to visit the people from her previous life. It was what she did. It was almost like she felt she _had_ to check on them.

Yet, a part of him wished she hadn't felt the need to leave. He was concerned that she would fell into a depression again. She had come so far and he didn't want to see all of her efforts go to waste.

He took his time getting up, brushing his hair out, rolling up his futon, and changing into his usual yukata and jacket since he didn't plan on going to the office today. He lifted a hand to adjust the red panda next to Wakame Taishi. He could only hope that she would return soon.

With a silent sigh, he opened his bedroom door and stopped to find the woman who plagued his thoughts sitting on the engawa in front. Her feet hung off the edge while she clutched a picture frame in her lap. "Sakura."

Watery emerald orbs met wide slate grey and a wide smile split her lips. "He gave me something to keep. Come look."

Byakuya knelt down next to her and she presented the pictures to him. It was two versions of her, a much younger version who had long pink locks, even back then, and such an innocent grin. The scowling black haired boy in the picture, he recognized as Sasuke, the man from Hell.

"The blonde is Naruto. He's the one I visited tonight. The day we took this picture is still so vivid in my mind. I remember just being happy that I was on a team. No one believed in us because we were such a odd, ragtag team. Even Kakashi, our sensei, didn't believe we would amount to much for a while."

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

Her smile was sad. "I'm sure you know and understand that every family and community within a village or town has secrets and histories that interweave together that result in certain actions. Sasuke... Sasuke became lost. It's a longer story I could tell another time. But... this second picture, we took it after a long journey of trying to bring him back with so many failures, sacrifices, a war, and a battle with a powerful deity."

In the second picture, Byakuya could see a new harmony between the four in the picture. Sakura had never told him, from top to bottom, the entirety of everything she had witnessed and endured. And he wasn't sure that she ever would. But, this picture exuded a new peace that hadn't been there before. No one scowled in the picture and even Sasuke had a hesitant smile.

"I probably won't go back. At least not for a while," she said, stroking a thumb over the pictures. She looked over at him, slowly leaning into him. "I'm sorry for last night. I know it was a lot for you - the festival and then me leaving."

"All that matters is that you returned." Byakuya dipped his head to kiss her softly. She whimpered and parted her lips, deepening the kiss.

"Sakura-oba-chan! Byakuya-oji-sama!"

They pulled away as Ichika came running towards them, throwing herself at Sakura and nuzzling into her hold. But before she could even explain her reason for being there, she noticed the picture in her hands. "Who are they?"

Sakura smiled. "Would you like to hear a little story about a team I used to be on?"


	20. XX - Apocalyptic

A/N: So, this will be the last chapter for a while. I'm going to make this story as complete and might add new chapters as I think of them. In the meantime, check out a new story I posted, called **Lady Haruno**. The first chapter is already up. Please check it out and leave a review for me. Much love for reading!

* * *

 **XX - Apocalyptic**

She'd lost track of how many days it'd been. It could have been months. It could have been a year. Part of her wished she'd been able to tell by how decomposed the bodies were that she found. But studying decomposition was not her job or what she wanted to do when she had worked in the hospital. She had, admittedly, been afraid of death being so present to her. But, now, death surrounded her, even in the corners she wedged herself into sometimes.

She shifted the gears in her car, speeding up to crest over the hill, but came to a sudden stop. Below, in the valley, lay the heart of her village. Or, what had once been her village. Now, it lay in ruins. Buildings had been toppled and shot at by the Royal Japanese Army that had tried to use firepower to stop the infection in its tracks. Even on this hot, sunny day, there seemed to be a cloud of dread and darkeness that hung around the village.

At the first sign of danger in her village, she had grabbed her father's gun from it's locked cabinet and ran out of the house. She had gone to look for them and, in the process, never had the chance to return. Her parents, as fierce as they were, had not lasted long in this new world. They had taken their lives in the middle of the night, abandoning her. She gritted her teeth. She had tried to join other groups before because the more numbers the better. Right? But she had quickly realized that people were selfish, looking out only for their own lives. And kill her dead if she happened upon any men traveling by themselves. One had tried to tear off her clothes and rape her. He had wanted her silenced sniper.

But, by that point, it didn't matter to her whether she killed the dead or the living. Because she had learned very quickly never to depend on anyone else in this world.

Something thumped on the side of her car and she slowly looked to see a rotting body pressing itself against the window, nailless fingers scratching at the glass and it's jaw clicking open and closed. It, thankfully, wasn't anybody she had known in the past and she rolled down the passenger window to shoot it in the head before slamming her foot on the gas.

\/\/\/

He'd lost track of how many days it had been. It could have possibly been months. It could have been a year. Part of him wished he'd been better able to keep track of time, have a piece of paper that tallied the days so he could know how long it had been since the universe had forsaken him. But little details like the passage of time had not concerned him when he worked in his father's company, making it his own. He had, admittedly, not cared for time and its significance. All he knew was that time meant money. But now, money meant nothing. And time no longer flowed, frozen where people met their demise.

He stood at the top of the valley that overlooked the heart of his village nestled at the bottom. Or what had once been his village. Now, it lay in ruins. The Royal Japanese Army had felt that bombs and rockets were the answer to stopping the infection. But they didn't know the infection was airborne and that everyone was already infected. Not getting bit when you died didn't keep you from turning. A darkness hung around the village, even on this hot sunny day.

At the first sign of danger, he had ran from his office to his parents' apartment to get them out of the village. His parents, as strong as they were, were not meant for what the infection meant. They had taken their lives with poison before he could get to them, abandoning him. He gritted his teeth. And the people he managed to get out of the valley village had abandoned him as well, none willing to stay in his presence when he kept going back to hopefully save more people. He had quickly realized that people were just as selfish as he thought they were, whether they grew up with money or not. A group had tried to kill him for his pistol and other weapons he happened to carry with him.

But, by that point, it didn't matter to him whether he killed the dead or the living. Because he learned very quickly that the only person he could depend on was himself.

Something growled behind him and he turned to see a couple rotting corpses staggering towards him. Because they were slow, he was able to approach them and assess, realizing that they weren't anyone he'd known in the past. With swiftness and precision, he jabbed his knife into their heads before sliding down the hill into the valley.

\/\/\/

It had taken her the day to scavenge for more food to replenish her stash and then climb a high enough and stable building to get a good view of her old apartment building. She had used the scope on her sniper rifle, seeing a few of the dead stalking around outside and a few in the building. But the ones she saw in the windows didn't tell her whether there were more in the halls.

Maybe, if she was careful enough, she could scale the balconies up to her apartment. But, being on the seventh floor, that would easily take a lot of energy out of her. Well, at least she had her dagger to take them out one by one that way. There was no point in wasting her bullets now when more could appear tomorrow. And firing her pistol in such an enclosed space wasn't a good idea either.

She cracked open the can of fruit and licked the juice off her fingers. She savored the fruity and sweet taste, humming softly. It had been some time since she'd last tasted the syrupy goodness of canned fruit. It reminded her of her childhood, sitting in the living room with cups of fruit from the store, watching cartoons. Or even playing out in the park with her friends.

A numb feeling started in her chest and slowly spread. Her friends... she hadn't even gone to look for them. She'd been scared, just concerned about her parents. The idea was to get them out of Konoha and then go back for others. But her parents hadn't let her leave, complaining that their only protection was the sniper gun. It wasn't even two days later that they had taken their own lives. By then, Konoha had been blockaded off and no one was allowed in or out. She couldn't find anyway in and no one could sneak out.

The can clattered on the tiled floor as she thrust her fingers in her hair, clenching. Never being able to fit into a group in this new world was her punishment, she was sure of it. Her eyes stung as she thought about whether they had gotten out of town alive or not. Did they fight to get out or did they get scared and end it before they could see it turn worse?

* * *

Konoha Hospital had been raided and stripped clear. She wasn't even sure why she was there. She should have been making her way into her apartment. But, standing in front of the building had cowed her and she made her way to the hospital. Even though the streets were deserted and buildings had been toppled, she had no problem finding her way to the hospital.

It was... surprisingly empty. None of the dead, a couple of unmoving bodies, no one threaten her that she give them her stuff. She found a couple bottles of medication that would be useful to her that people had missed, along with bandages and a couple half bottles of liquid medicine. It was honestly too much for her to carry all by herself, so she took what she needed most, compiling all the pills into one bottle and stuffing cotton inside to reduce the rattling noise.

The hospital had been her second home, in the past. When she wasn't at home sleeping or out with friends, she was at the hospital, writing up papers, seeing patients, and performing surgeries. Tsunade had been her mentor from the moment she had been accepted into medical school at the ripe age of twenty-two, a young resident. She passed tests with flying colors, aced courses, and managed to perform even the most difficult of microsurgeries without issue.

And yet, none of that mattered now.

When she exited the hospital on the roof, the sun was at its highest point in the sky, meaning it was about midday. She took off her backpack and pulled out a small can of tiny hot dogs, using her fingers to eat the tiny wieners.

Maybe, she was never meant to be with others. Her love life had always been a wreck. Her first love had been Uchiha Sasuke. He was cool and calm, aloof and stoic. But, somewhere in middle school, he'd quickly realized that he was never interested in girls. He was actually interested in their mutual friend, Uzumaki Naruto. By their high school graduation, both had slept with each other and were planning to attend university together.

Her next love interest had been, unsurprisingly, Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother. She hadn't initiated the interest. Itachi had actually been the one to approach her first. Of course she had resisted. The men of the Uchiha Clan were a danger to a woman's psyche and emotions. But Itachi was persuasive and, by her sophomore year of college, had seduced her into his bed. Multiple times. Itachi was a kind person and definitely loving when you could get past his aloof personality and selective mutism. But the amount of time he put into becoming the next Head of the Uchiha Clan was more than he was willing to put into their relationship.

And it certainly didn't help that Sasuke had no problem voicing his discomfort with their relationship. And Itachi was too indulgent in his younger brother.

After that, she'd had a brief fling with a professor in her university. Sakura wasn't ashamed to say that junior year was definitely her low point as she shamelessly flirted with her professor to make sure he gave her good grades in a rather difficult class. During one of his office hours, she'd shoved everything off his desk and bent over, presenting her bare ass to him. Hatake Kakashi was a man through and through and could not resist the temptation of a young piece of ass. That had lasted until she got her final grades, which could not be changed. And she broke that one off quickly.

Gunshots fired in the distance and she shot to her feet, listening as more rang out. Taking her gun off her back, she looked through her scope. A man was in trouble. He seemed to be holding his own okay. But more were coming after him.

From her bag, she pulled out one of her flares. She quickly lit it, waving it in the air and whistling. Through her scope, she could see him notice and then start running towards the hospital. She threw the flare off the roof before sprinting down the stairs to get to the ground floor in time. She grabbed the flare again and waved it around. She could see him round the corner and quickly pulled out her gun to kill the ones right on his back.

As he neared her, she tossed the flare at the hoarde gathering and grabbed his hand. "Come on, this way."

"Where are we going?" he demanded.

Something about his voice rang bells in her memories, but she didn't have time to look back at him. "Somewhere safe for now. Run faster."

"We need to kill more of them."

"Now isn't the time. Focus."

\/\/\/

They panted, hands on knees and bodies bent over. She had been smart is setting up a barricade before she left. She wasn't sure that she would return to her same place from the night before. It wasn't a good idea to go back to the same sleeping spot when others could be watching and waiting. But, she had nowhere else to go with her current companion.

They had sprinted up the stairs after pushing over the bookcase and pushing a couple couches from the lounge up against it too.

"Thank you," he said, catching his breath a bit.

She straightened and regarded him quietly. Ah, she understood now why her brain had been trying to alert her. "Kuchiki Byakuya," she said softly, looking into his slate grey eyes. "I didn't expect you to still be hanging around here."

He frowned at her. "Haruno Sakura."

"I'm half inclined to throw you back outside and make you fend for yourself again."

"Clearly, I should not have followed the flare. Only someone so reckless as you would create noise and attract more of them."

"You know where the front door is. Be my guest and go back on the streets."

"I'll leave the door open for you then."

Sakura blew out a breath and huffed. "Do whatever you want. I'm going to my hiding spot."

She stormed up the next two flights of stairs, aware that he followed after her. But as long as he didn't get in her way, she didn't care. On the tenth floor, she pushed open the door to the apartment she had occupied and made her way to the living room, setting herself in front of the floor to ceiling windows again.

"Why this apartment?" he asked behind her, closing the door quietly.

"What does it matter to you?"

"If we are going to, at the the very least, spend the night in each other's company, we should know what the other has planned."

"Huh, never knew you were capable of actually caring for another," she ground out, lifting her sniper to her face, looking at her apartment building. The dead she had seen before loitering in the building were still there, none of them in her old apartment. She would still be safe, going out tomorrow to get what she needed and get out.

"We must put our past differences aside and-"

"Don't you dare talk to me about putting differences aside," she snarled at him, spinning around to grab him by the front of his shirt. "Did you really think I would forgive you for the shit you put me through when we were together? For all the reporters who called me asking to know about I felt about you dumping me the way you did?"

But he said nothing, regarding her with that same stoic face he'd give her when she caught him, so many years ago. She scoffed and pushed him away, stalking back to the window. "I don't care what you do. Just don't get in my way."

She sat at the window for a while, watching the village below her. She couldn't recall ever being so high up before and seeing almost all of Konoha at once. But part of her was bothered, still, by the lack of motion, of energy, of sense of humanity that her village once had.

The front door opened and she spun around. Byakuya froze as she pointed her gun at him, thinking someone was breaking in, before she frowned. "What are you doing?" she hissed. She hadn't realized she'd been sitting so quietly in front of the window. The sun was close to the horizon, ready to set and engulf the valley in darkness once again.

"I'm going to look upstairs for supplies."

"Now?"

He only hummed at her and stepped outside into the hall. She gritted her teeth, turning back to the window and ready to leave him to his own devices. But a large part of her was not willing to sit alone in the unknown. What if he encountered others upstairs? What if more of the dead were up there? What if he couldn't save himself in time?

Byakuya looked back at her as she closed the apartment door quietly behind her and followed him up the stairs. She noticed his curious look and she looked down at her feet. "Don't read into this. It just seems stupid for us to separate now, especially when I haven't checked any of the other apartments."

He hummed and continued up the stairs. She had expected him to explore the apartment right above her hideout, but he had instead turned and headed up the next flight again. While she wanted to ask, she wasn't keen on making noise when she wasn't sure what waited for them upstairs. The second apartment he stopped in front of and stood there for a couple beats. She stood behind him, peeking around his shoulder and expected to see something blockading them from getting inside. But the door was merely cracked open.

"Byakuya?"

He jumped a bit before shoving the door open with more force than necessary. Inside, she was surprised to see that the apartment was almost nearly identical to her hideout except there was a second floor to this one. This was the penthouse of the building. And Byakuya seemed to move around like he knew the place.

To her left was the floor to ceiling windows with a fireplace, pristine, angular couches, a shag rug, and antiques lining the walls around a massive flat screen television. In front of her was a massive kitchen that seemed to have all the state of the art appliances and marble counters. To her right was the dining room that had a long table with more than twelve chairs around it and cabinets of fine chinaware.

Byakuya had disappeared into one of the rooms behind the kitchen but she wandered upstairs slowly, her pistol raised in front of her. The first room that caught her interest had the crest of the Kuchiki gilded on the upper center of the door. She reached for the door handle, surprised to find it unlocked. Just as she pushed it open to step in, someone stood behind her, grabbed the handle over her hand and shutting it closed.

"Hey."

"Don't," he said quietly. Something about the tone of his voice made her lose the fight on her tongue. "Don't go in there. Please."

"What... Do you know what's in there?"

He released her hand and moved away. She peeked back over her shoulder to see him entering the room at the opposite end of the hall. She followed behind, surprised to find such a large room with a large, raised futon and fluffy pillows, a balcony towards the foot of the bed, and a bathroom next to the bed, glass windows looking in.

"How do you know this place?"

"My parents lived here," he said quickly, opening the closet and reaching up to grab a box from above the clothes.

"And you did too apparently."

"I visited when I had time."

"You never brought me here."

But he didn't say anything, kneeling on the ground to look through the box. She wandered around looking in the bathroom before wandering to the balcony doors, seeing the sun setting halfway in the horizon. "Did you bring Hisana here?"

"Does it matter?"

"Don't think I didn't notice that you're alone. Either she's off hiding somewhere else or..."

"Dead? Yes. She died."

Sakura stared at his back as he stopped searching through the box and shifted uncomfortably, taken aback by how quickly and matter of fact he answered. "Um... sorry..."

As Byakuya rummaged through the box again, stuffing his pockets with whatever he felt was necessary, she browsed his desk. She was surprised to find a small camera, not bigger than her hand on his desk. Her brows furrowed.

It couldn't be.

She flipped it over to turn it on, the small screen lighting up. On it, were some photos that they had taken together as a couple. Most of them, she had taken when he wasn't looking, a couple when they were together. But one of them had been of them kissing passionately. He must have taken it when she wasn't looking. And there were no other photos on it, like she had expected.

"Sakura."

She looked up at him. "You... you kept this?"

"...Yes."

"But... why?"

He stared at her for a couple beats before taking the camera out of her hand, flipping through the photos too. "You were the first woman to give me something for a purpose. Everything else I had been given was flashy or to show off my wealth. _This_ was for the purpose of making memories."

She looked down at their feet. "We did make some good memories... didn't we?"

He hummed and set the camera down on the desk. Byakuya turned away and walked downstairs, searching some more. Sakura took her time, peeking into the other bedrooms to find them pristine and untouched. Part of her was curious to see what was in the other room he didn't want to go into. But, she could at least give him that privacy.

\/\/\/

Sakura wouldn't deny that Byakuya was handsome, even after their rough breakup. He had showered in the bathroom in her hideout and came out wrapped only in a towel. Her face flushed at the sight of his abs and deep v at his hips. He only cast her a glance before sitting on the couch. And she knew he saw her looking.

Well, two could play at that game.

After she showered, she came out without a towel around her body, only one on her head to dry her hair. She heard him suck in a sharp breath as she stood in front of the window. "What? I'm usually alone. Afraid of a little feminine physique?"

Byakuya stood and silently moved behind her. She could feel his body heat against her back and heard the towel drop from around his waist. Sakura didn't realize she was holding her breath until he pressed her up against the glass, his hardening cock nestling between the cheeks of her ass. His hands trapped her in place against the cool glass, her nipples tightening. She didn't want to admit, even to herself, just how much she had missed his touch. He was the only one who cared to listen to her body, finding the places that drove her crazy and the spots that turned her off.

His fingers danced between her legs and his lips found purchase on her neck and shoulders, leaving dark marks. Their lips met each other with messy roughness, their teeth almost clashing. But all of this didn't prepare her for the feeling of him spreading her open with her knee in his hand and filling her up with his cock. Everything in her wanted to moan aloud as he pumped into her, rubbing in all the right places. But only the sounds of their skin slapping and their gasping breaths echoed.

Their romp in the darkness didn't last long. He was quick to spill himself inside of her. And she certainly should have deterred him from doing so. But feeling his warm seed filling her was too much of a familiar sensation to pass up.

The village lay darkness and quietness below them and, as they sat naked side by side on the couch, Byakuya said quietly, "I did not leave you by choice."

"What do you mean?"

"My family, my Clan, was not happy that I was publicly dating you. They wanted me to stop and I defied them. I told them I would do what I wanted, especially since I was to be the next Head of the Clan. But they didn't like my answer. Neither did my parents." He clenched his fist and Sakura touched his hand.

"They threatened to kill you. They said they would send someone to kill you in your sleep. Or they would poison your food. Or shove you in front of a bus. They would get rid of you anyway they could so I could marry another wealthy woman, for the betterment of the Clan."

Her breath became shallow. "...What?"

"I could not drive you away knowing what I knew."

"So... you invited me over that night... to find you and Hisana together."

"...Yes."

"So that I would leave you myself."

"Making you hate me was the only thing I could think of to ensure that you would remain safe."

* * *

The next morning, he traveled with her to her old apartment. It wasn't as awkward as she imagine it would be after a night of vulnerability. The darkness brought that out in people. He didn't try to kiss her or assume that her old hurt feelings weren't still real. No amount of explanations could wipe away years of pent up anguish and disgust with herself and him.

But before they left, he spread her out on the couch and feasted between her legs. It was a welcome euphoric feeling with his tongue and fingers fondling and probing her. After she slid her black tights and white tank on, he helped her pull her long pink hair up into a ponytail. "You should cut this."

"Why?"

"So the dead do not catch it and trap you."

"I've fared fine thus far. Though, I'm sure you've jinxed me now." She looked at him over her shoulder. "Besides, I know you liked to pull on my hair when you took me from behind."

His slate grey eyes narrowed at her smirk.

"I'm just saying, we still have time. We don't have to go out right now."

He pressed himself against her back, trailing his lips over the shell of her ear. "Perhaps, once we get out of Konoha, I will have you again. And, I'll make it a point to pull on your hair."

It should be noted that Sakura strongly differentiated between her feelings of lust for him and her previous romantic feelings for him. The past night evoked feelings of lust, again, because of her previous hurt feelings and the broken relationship. Did she want to mend things and finally have a companion with her? She wasn't sure. When he dressed in his black combat pants and black t-shirt, and then gave a soft tug on her ponytail on their way out, a part of her said yes.

But now was not the time to make those kinds of decisions.

"What are you hoping to retrieve from your old apartment?"

"The momentos I had to leave behind. At the very least, the picture of my parents and I." She hopped over the hood of a car. "Maybe the one with me, Naruto, and Sasuke too."

"Where are the blonde and his partner?"

Sakura didn't say anything, choosing to look through her scope at her building entrance. None of the dead seemed to loiter around. This would make their journey easier.

"Sakura."

"What?"

He didn't say anything.

She looked back to see more than a handful of the dead suddenly in the vicinity. She couldn't be sure that they were following the sound of them moving and gently elbowed his side. "Come on."

Byakuya followed without another question about her companions and, for that, she was thankful. Sakura was sure she knew what happened to Naruto and Sasuke. Both of her boys were strong and willful. She didn't doubt that the two of them had tried to protect as many people as they could, especially with Naruto leading. Part of her had hoped that the couple cared enough about to her look for her. But, she wasn't stupid or oblivious. She imagined that if she hadn't encountered them before, they were probably dead.

It was a hard pill to stomach but it was the reality of her situation. Everyone she had known was gone now for sure, leaving her alone with her one last link to the past.

"How did Hisana die?" she asked quietly as they stood in front of the entrance to the building.

Byakuya glanced around them. "Poison. Her note only said that she was too afraid to stay." After a short pause, he added, "My parents did the same, without the note."

"My parents did the same after I got them out of the valley." She pushed open the front door entrance and he followed her inside, their daggers clenched tightly in their fists, handguns in the other hand. They didn't need to express their plan of attack. Moving and killing quietly was the law of the world now. They only had to take down three of the dead on their way up to the seventh floor, trying to keep their panting to a minimum. The halls were covered in a light layer of dust, no one having traversed in some time. They moved quickly to apartment 706, the door cracked open, just like his apartment.

But, unlike his, hers had been ransacked and one of the dead stood in the middle of the small living room. She gritted her teeth and lunged to stab it in the head, blood splattered across her face and arm. Her body froze, still in her sudden anger, before she pushed herself up and strode quickly into what used to be her bedroom. In the past, she might have been ashamed at the fact that she still had boy band posters up on her wall, strings of lights, and even pots of fake flowers nailed to the wall. But, now, it didn't matter.

Her room had, miraculously, been untouched for whatever reason. Perhaps the ransackers never made it to her bedroom before having to flee. Byakuya remained in the living room, maybe to keep watch. She didn't know or care. In one of her desk drawers, she found the photos she had been looking for.

The first frame had her and her parents sitting at dinner, grinning at the waiter who had kindly taken the picture for them. She had gotten accepted into medical school. Sakura didn't care for celebrations much, especially when they came to her being the center of attention. But, it made her parents happy to celebrate like this, so she indulged them. It was one of those few moments when her mom wasn't harassing her to push herself and reach higher.

The second frame had a picture of her, Sasuke, and Naruto at their high school graduation, arms around each other's shoulders. She stood in the middle, her grin almost too unsightly and childish as she hugged her boys in tightly, both of them with their own versions of unsightly grins.

A water drop dripped onto the glass, followed by a couple more. When had she dropped to her knees? Why was she crying? She thought she had used up all of her tears. She was afraid to breathe, afraid even breathing in would break the overflowing dam within her.

The floor creaked to her left and she immediately pointed the gun out of habit. Byakuya seemed undeterred, even as her hand shook. Neither were sure why it took her a couple minutes for her hand to drop, the gun slipping from her grasp. She sniffled wetly. "Sorry..."

Byakuya moved into the bedroom, looking around. "Cozy."

She scoffed, sniffling again. "Sure. You can say it looks childish. I know it is."

As she worked to pop the pictures out from the frames, he moved towards the desk, picking up another photo from the drawer. "You still have this."

She looked. It was a photo she had taken on her phone of her and Byakuya, laying on a picnic blanket with flower petals around them. It was one of their last dates before everything fell apart. "Yeah. I couldn't throw it away."

Byakuya didn't say anything in response. He just took the picture out and carefully unfolded it, slipping it in his pocket.

"Yes, you can totally have the picture."

"I am also in the photo. By rights, I am entitled to it with or without your permission."

She rolled her eyes, despite her small smile. As she stood, she wiped her eyes, giving the bedroom a final look around. "Okay, I'm good to go. I just wanted the photos."

They left her apartment, firmly closing the door behind her. She wished she could right the apartment to how she remembered it, lock the door, and keep it as it was, like a freeze frame. But she didn't have the key anymore. She smiled at her companion and he smirked back at her.

"I think we should stay one more night before we head out."

He hummed and cupped the back of her head, kissing her. While she returned the kiss, when he pulled back, her brows were furrowed. "Byakuya..."

"I know," he said softly. "Nothing I've explained will absolve my actions from before. Take as long as you need."

She opened the door to the stairwell and one of the dead lunged at her, knocking her to the ground.

\/\/\/

Sakura didn't want to wait until they got out of Konoha for him to take her again. She wanted him as soon as they had showered. He sat on the couch in the dark and she came around him, dropping between his legs and licking his cock. He was taken aback by her sudden and bold move. But she had him groaning and hissing in the palms of her hands in seconds.

Before he came down her throat, he pulled her off, cupping her face. Even though they could not clearly see each other in the dark, she could feel his eyes on hers. "Sakura, slow down. I'm not going anywhere."

She squeezed her eyes closed. "...I know." But his words didn't stop her from begging him to take her from behind, to wrap her hair around his fist and tug on it like he used to. In that moment, as he slipped inside her trembling heat, she didn't care if he was confused by her actions. She wanted this, needed this, and moaned for him to go deeper, harder.

Byakuya molded himself over her back as he hammered in her, grunting in her ear as she dropped to her elbows.

A tear dripped down her cheek.

"Sakura... I'm cumming..."

"Please... give to me, Bya-kun..."

He buried his face in her back, groaning deeply. Her teeth tore into her bottom lip as she whimpered, tossing her head back. As her mind and body melded back into one, she could feel his lips kissing the curve of her spine. Their breath was harsh and loud in the spacious apartment.

After they calmed, she served them each cans of fruit. Byakuya hummed quietly. "Did you check the expiration on these?"

"They're fine," she insisted. "I grabbed them yesterday before I found you."

He hummed again.

\/\/\/

By the time Byakuya woke up, she would be long gone. She had gotten dressed long after he passed out, aided by the sleeping pills she'd ground into his fruit. The car she drove into the valley with had been left unscathed in the parking garage and she slammed on the gas, speeding out of Konoha.

The tears fell freely. Of course she hadn't cried all herself dry. Her knuckles turned white from her grip on the wheel and her sobs echoed in her ears. All of this didn't stop her stomach from hurting and the pain throbbing in her side.

How could she have been so careless? Of all the times she'd encountered the dead, it was when she was with someone else that she dropped her guard and gotten hurt. No, she couldn't blame Byakuya. It wasn't his fault.

It wasn't anyone's fault.

The universe just decided that she'd done enough in this world in a short amount of time. And this was how she was supposed to go out.

Whether she liked it or not.

* * *

 _Byakuya-kun_

 _I'm sorry for drugging you last night. It was the only way I knew that you would let me go without a fight._

 _I lied when I said I wasn't bit when the dead fell on me back in my apartment building. Funny that I would finally get the only thing I wanted that was left in Konoha and I get bitten. In our last moment together, as you fell asleep and told me you still loved me, I realize nothing before mattered. I'm no longer angry or hurt over what happened before._

 _I don't know that I still love you; it's... it's a jumble of feelings happening inside me as I write you this note. I'm scared and sad and angry and... lost. I know you had to see your parents' bodies and even Hisana's. So, I'll spare you the torture of having to watch me in pain and eventually turn. I wouldn't burden you with having to take my life._

 _Please don't mourn for me. Continue persevering in this fucked up world because I need to leave here believing that you can find peace somewhere._

 _The sun will rise soon and I'll drive out in my car the same way I drove in. In these final moments with you, I think I do love you. Maybe. I don't know._

 _Until I see you again,_

 _Sakura xoxo_


	21. XXI - Savior or Captor

A/N: I used to watch Inuyasha as a kid and, while I initially never really like Sesshomaru, I eventually became interested in how Rin came to be under his care while he continued to say he hated humans. So, I wanted to do a version of their meeting with Sakura and Byakuya. So, this is wholly set in the Inuyasha universe but with _Naruto_ and _Bleach_ characters. Hope you enjoy! Leave a review!

* * *

 **XXI - Saviour or Captor**

She gasped for air as she ran, branches snatching at her skin and yukata. She could hear the men laughing behind her as they chased her. Her temple stung from the rocks they had thrown at her head, blood making her squeeze her left eye shut. They called to her, telling her to let them beat her up a bit more for even daring to step foot in their store house and looking at their surplus of rations.

She'd been hungry. There was no one to take care of her, no one to feed her. Her mother, the village's medic, had been the only one to care for her as she grew. And the others made them live outside of the village walls, saying they were too dangerous, that they were witches because of her unnatural white hair and her daughter's pink. Yet, they always called for her mother when a babe was to be born or someone was ill or injured. The moment her mother had passed, she had become even more of a pariah to the village. They merely tolerated her presence within the village walls. But, if she lingered too long, they would kick her out, throwing rocks and sticks at her.

"Come on, witch child. All witches need a good beating to learn their place," one of the men called.

She looked back to see how close they were. But looking back had cost her as her foot caught on a tree root and she fell on her face, skinning up her arms and elbow. Before she could push herself up to run away, the five men were upon her, grabbing her thin arms and pink hair, yanking her head back to expose her throat. "No, no," she screamed, emerald orbs wild. "Let go."

One of the men shoved a piece of cloth in her mouth, silencing her while the tears feel in rivulets down her cheek and neck.

"Shut up and accept your punishment."

"Hey, ever wondered what it's like to lay with a witch spawn?" another smirked, dragging his spear down the front of her yukata and tearing the belt that kept it closed. She tried to yank her arms free to protect her modesty but her clothing fell open, bearing her unbound and small breasts and the cloth underwear she had fashioned for herself. "Her breasts started budding quickly for being only twelve summers."

"You should be grateful that we would even grace you with the ability to even lay with us." The one behind her yanked her head back further as one of the men slipped the edge of his spear along her cheek. Then he pressed the tip against the hollow of her throat. She could feel it pierce her skin and a dribble of blood trailed down between her breasts. "Prepare to take our seed and let's hope you don't end up with a bastard child."

She squeezed her eyes closed, daring not to breathe as she sent a prayer above, begging the kami, any kami, to spare her pitiful life.

Suddenly, something wet splattered across her face and chest. And she briefly wondered if one of the men had already spilled his seed on her. She had seen it once before while passing an open brothel window from the next village over, the way the man stood before a kneeling woman.

A heavy and tense air hung around them and more wetness splattered on her, the men behind suddenly releasing her. One of them screamed, his cries ending in a gurgle. Another kicked her forward to the ground, pressing his foot against her skull. "You fucking witch, summoning a demon to save-"

His words were cut off as his foot disappeared. Only then did she risk a peek.

The creature who stood above her was too handsome for words. He had long black hair that tumbled both over his shoulders and down his back. He had a sky blue mark that ran across his nose and cheeks. His clothing was made of the finest white, black, and gold silk, a pale blue scarf wrapped around his neck.

His eyes were completely black, including the whites of his eyes.

Quickly, she pulled closed her yukata, still staring at the creature before her. It wasn't until he looked at her that she realized that he had killed the men around her. She didn't flinch at the realization that their blood was on her or feel fear of the creature which saved her. He watched her with his fathomless obsidian black eyes as she stood.

"A... Arigato... gozaimasu, kami-sama..." she said softly. She remembered her mother telling her to always bare her throat to any powerful being who came before her and turn down her eyes.

The male's brows furrowed and he approached her, wrapping his long fingers around her throat. She had no fear. If the cost of saving her life from those men was her own, then she would gladly allow him.

But his hold wasn't tight. His thumb stroked the column of her throat before he leaned in, pressing his nose into her skin. He inhaled deeply skimming his nose across her collarbone. She whimpered and he rumbled in his chest before straightening. As he released her, he started to walk away.

What was that about? Was she supposed to do something?

"Wait."

But he didn't stop. She looked at the ground, finding the broken tie of her yukata. Snatching it up, she tied her yukata closed and ran after him. "Onegai... wait."

She caught up to him, though he paid her no mind as he continued on. Blood dripped from his right hand and had been splattered across his clothing. She wished he would say something to her. But kami operated on their own laws and rules. He didn't have to say anything to her if he so chose.

But the kami didn't move very far from where he killed the men. In fact, he stopped suddenly and dropped to his knees before falling back against the tree. She moved to check him over, calling out to him. But he snarled at her, baring his pointed canines at her. She bared her throat and cast her eyes down. As he relaxed against the tree, a barrier erected around him, shielding him. His eyes fell closed and she watched as his body seemed to relax.

She only waited a couple beats before reaching forward. Her hand passed through the barrier without problem and he didn't stir from his rest.

Well, she couldn't return to the village now. They would never accept her back especially when they all knew those men had chased her in the woods.

Oh god, those men...

She looked back in the direction from which they had traveled. Hopefully, the kami would stay asleep for some time while she handled the bodies. She really didn't want to but they would come looking for the men soon enough and it would turn into a hunt for her if they found the bodies.

* * *

 _"Father," the younger version of himself shouted, running through the palace. Soon, the older demon would be leaving for a battle with an equally strong and powerful demon. He'd seen how his mother paced out in the gardens when she thought she was alone. He understood that the pride of a demon compelled them to accept challenges, even if it was clear that they would be outmatched._

 _But he didn't agree with his father's reasons for accepting this challenge._

 _His father stood out at the front of the gardens, two guards by the massive doors. He had already transformed into his large canine form, black fur gleaming with a blue undertone in the moonlight. He looked back at his son with dark eyes that matched the night sky, the universe alight in his pupiless eyes._

 _"Why protect those humans?" he demanded. "They are weak and have offered nothing to these lands but disease and war. They're animals incapable of thinking of anything else beyond their own destruction."_

 _The Northern Head regarded his son quietly, his tail flowing in the breeze. A storm was brewing in the distance, no doubt bringing an omen with it. He leaned down close to the younger demon and rumbled in his chest. But his questions was clear:_ Consider with great thought what the humans bring to our lands and the larger land of Japan. Not all humans wage war, my son. I protect the humans who occupy the Northern Shores for a reason. When I eventually pass on, you must find your own reason for protecting these humans. What will it be?

 _"I will never protect those filthy creatures."_

\/\/\/

His eyes popped open, jostled from his unconscious by the sound of a voice, crying out sharply.

Where was he?

His slate grey eyes roamed around his surroundings. The branches of trees swayed above him, sunlight filtered through the bright green leaves shining down on him. Between him and the trees, he could identify a violet-colored barrier, weak at it was, around him. Good. At least he'd had enough wherewithal in his unconscious and heavily wounded state to put a barrier around himself. His inner beast must have felt it was safe enough to stop here and recuperate.

A gasp sounded followed by a strained grunt and he looked, rolling his head to the right with great effort. A slip of a woman, a human woman at that, struggled to get out from beneath a large male body. Her face was covered in dirt and smeared with dried blood. Her clothing was tattered and stained, though her cherry blossom pink hair stood out against the landscape. He scoffed internally at how a human girl managed to survive thus far with such obnoxious colored hair.

As she finally got herself free, he was surprised to see her grab the male by the arms and drag him towards a hole in the ground, dumping it unceremoniously. Had she fought them off by herself? She reached to begin tossing dirt over the hole. From his vantage point, he couldn't see exactly what she had tossed in the hole. but it was more than just one man. If his sight was correct, it seemed like there were multiple limbs and weapons being buried.

If he could, he would have used his voice to demand to know who this woman was, what her intentions were. If she planned to attack him next, it would be her own demise.

However, he didn't remember making a noise, but he must have as her head swiveled around, emerald green orbs connecting with his own slate grey. A wide smile bloomed on her face and she rushed over, dropping down to her knees next to the barrier around him. "Kami-sama," she said breathily, her smile turning warm.

Him? Was she referring to him as a god? His brows furrowed. What had happened while he was unconscious, while his beast had been in control?

The young human held her hands out, palms towards him, gesturing for him to stay there. Was she simple? Clearly he could not move. She stood and ran into the bushes on the other side of him, rustling around. How long had he been there?

 **Days,** his beast whispered to him from within, stirring from his own slumber. **The woman has been watching over you.**

 _Foolish_ , he thought to himself. He was more than capable of healing himself.

 **Our body stopped breathing. The woman breathed life into us and pressed healing herbs to our wounds.**

He paused. Now that he thought about it, he was laying completely on his back, his haori was parted, revealing is bare torso, and his scarf was missing.

 **This woman cried tears over us when she saw the hole in our body. She speaks few words.**

 _Where is our scarf?_

His beast rolled its eyes. **Wait.**

He hated that his beast seemed smitten with this woman. Why had his beast allowed her to touch his being in such an intimate manner?

The woman returned both with his scarf and a bowl. She knelt next to him, still outside the barrier, and pushed her hair back to expose her throat to him, lowering her eyes. His own eyes widened, surprised by her offering of submission. He couldn't move though, or even rumble to accept her submission, not that he wanted to. And she managed to keep her eyes cast down long enough before she finally peeked at him.

He merely stared.

He expected her to fidget or be upset but her smile remained in place. She placed a large, dry leaf before her knees and laid his scarf on it, sliding it within the barrier. "I keep clean," she said, her words again soft and breathy.

She stood and moved to his other side with the bowl, reaching through the barrier towards his torso. He wanted to reject her touch, snarl at her, detach her hand from her body to teach her the lesson of touching him. But, still, despite his distaste and anger at her actions, he could do nothing.

His eyes widened, nonetheless, at her gentle touch. Humans were rough and aggressive, even between mates. Men were rough and harsh with their wives and playthings, women rough and quick tongued with each other and their children. Even the offspring they bore learned nothing of decorum and grace. Yet this woman touched and handled his wounds and unresponsive body like one might stroke the petals of a flower.

"So hurt," she said, her voice a little stronger. "Hole... deep..."

Ah, yes, that's right. He had been fatally wounded in a battle against the Eastern Lord. It was bad enough that he hadn't even made it back to his lands before needing to rest. Anybody passing who saw the demonic Lord of the Northern Shores unconscious and vulnerable would surely behead him in his state of extreme weakness and claim his lands for themselves. Especially when his only forms of protection were a weak barrier and a human woman.

And heaven forbid the Lord of the Western Lands find him in a such a sorry state. He would come and talk his ear off with incessant questions rather than actually helping him.

He snarled suddenly, finding his voice as he felt a sharp sting in his torso. She gasped, yanking her hand back. Her fingers were covered in a green paste, the smell pungent and disgusting. She exposed her throat again but it did nothing to keep him from snarling at her. How dare she cause him pain?

She remained still, her breathing shallow. So, she wasn't as simple as she seemed. Even if he didn't think he could move, reactions based on instinct might actually give him strength. Once he settled, she waited before peeking again. She did not exude the pungent smell of fear like other humans might after being in his presence. She remained calm, her scent unwavering, and she reached forward to tend to his wound again.

Who was she?

* * *

Once the male had fallen back asleep, she rushed to the nearby stream to catch fish. Beyond healing, this was one of the few things her mother had taught her that she was good at. She had taught her to walk calmly and quietly into the water, tying her yukata above her knees. Then, slip her hands into the water, like a tunnel, and then keep still. She had to wait patiently and, when a fish swam between her palms, she had to act quickly, flinging her hands up out of the water.

A fish landed on the banks of the water, flopping around. She grinned to herself and dipped her hands in the water once again. She would catch two - one for each of them - and cook them over the fire. She didn't have any seasonings. She just hoped the kami accepted her meager offerings without anger. She was not an expert cook like her mother, but she got by.

" _You have to learn the way food reacts just as you have to learn the way bodies react to medicine."_

She squeezed her eyes shut. Her mother had tried mercilessly to teach her daughter words, to get her to recite words and phrases. But words had been hard for her, for her lips and tongue to form. Eventually, her mother gave up trying to teach and merely tried to make sure her daughter understood the words spoken to her, which Sakura did with immense clarity. She learned the words necessary enough to keep her alive in their day to day.

But not enough to keep her mother alive, not enough to pray hard enough to the gods to save her mother's life.

Another fish on the banks flopped next to its clone and she trudged out of the water. Why had the kami saved her but not her mother? Why did they respond now but not before?

\/\/\/

The kami had not been appeased by her offering of the cooked fish.

When he awoke and she presented it to him, he had turned his nose away. She could not find or articulate the words needed to express her confusion. And he merely ignored her when she tried to present the fish to him again. Only soft, keening sounds of protest sounded while her heart thundered in her ears.

She could feel him watching her as she stood and dumped the fish and large leaf in the fire, a hot anger burning inside her. Why had her mother not told her that the kami were fickle? Why had she not properly explained how to make sacrifices? Why did the kami try her abilities at every turn?

She snatched up the spear she had kept from the men before burying their bodies and walked into the trees. She knew of only one other way to make a sacrifice. The other option was not one that she could ever consider.

" _Sometimes, in order for women to make proper sacrifices to the gods and appease them, they may require women to lay with them."_

* * *

He was more than confused when the girl returned hours later with two rabbits, holding them by their ears. He was sure that females, particularly human females, found rabbits quite cute and difficult to kill. While he was not interested in however she would choose to cook this meat, he was surprised by the fact that she waltzed back into the clearing with blood staining her hands and yukata.

She skinned and cut the meat with precision and carefulness. However, he was even more surprised when she carved out the hearts with careful fingers and spear, coming over to present them to him. What was she thinking?

 **She thinks us kami. Hearts of fresh kills are often the choice of sacrifice.**

I refuse to allow her such freedom as to feed me.

 **If you won't, then I will.**

Sakura was ready to scream in frustration when it seemed as if the kami would reject her offers in this way too. She didn't care if the kami was a kami or not. If she refused to allow the men from her village to touch her, she surely would not let a kami touch her.

But his eyes changed. He grunted with exertion as his slate grey eyes became engulfed in blackness, his blue markings becoming jagged. His aura had shifted, becoming more wild, and, suddenly, he gripped her left wrist tightly. His pointed claws bit into the tender skin of her inner wrist. Slowly, he leaned forward and plucked the small heart from her bloody palm with his teeth. She didn't even realize that her lips had formed a small 'o' as he leaned over and devoured the other heart.

"Kami-sama..." she whispered softly.

His eyes shifted up to look into hers and she gasped, exposing her throat quickly. He rumbled softly in his throat and yanked her closer to him. He pressed his nose against her throat, rubbing and sniffing.

Her eyes widened when she felt his tongue lap at her skin before his hold slackened. She looked down to see his eyes fall closed and his head loll forward against her body. She grabbed him quickly in her arms, settling him back down. "Kami-sama."

He was still breathing. She blew out a breath before checking his wound in his abdomen. It had begun to bleed again, heavily, though the muscles had mended themselves together for the most part. Her plan in rubbing crushed herbs on his wounds was to keep them from paining him in his sleep. Sometimes, he would make soft, painful noises in his sleep when the numbing effects worse off.

But he needed to keep still if his wounds were to heal completely.

* * *

She bathed in the stream, her clothes had been soiled with the blood and dirt, and her own skin just as ruddy and dirty. Thankfully, she always kept the magical bar her mother had made on her person. The bar could get out any stain on her yukata. She honestly hadn't even realized her state until she considered the clothing the male wore back in their clearing.

She dunked her head beneath the water.

Once he was able to regain his strength without issue, what would that mean for her? Would he allow her to travel with him? Where would she even go if he didn't?

She draped her clothes on a rock to dry, ringing her pink locks out before laying back in the sun. Her nudity had never been an issue since it was only ever her and her mother, and then her alone. And they never bathed or washed what few yukata they had in the same river as the other villagers. She could just rest her eyes for a little bit before going to check on her kami.

After a while, feeling her skin getting sensitive from the heat of the sun, she put on her slightly damp yukata, checked on the male kami, and then crept into the woods. It had been a while since the men had chased her into the woods and out of the village. She knew she couldn't go back now, not that she had anything to retrieve from her small shack. Her mother believed in living with few worldly possessions and, after her passing, Sakura had no interest in toys or things to keep herself occupied. She spent so much time making tonics and other concoctions for the villagers that she never had time for anything else.

"Are you sure they went this way?"

"I'm sure of it. I watched them as they ran after her."

She ducked behind a tree, slapping her hands over her mouth and tilting her head back to mask her breathing. Her heart hammered in her chest, her eyes wide and unfocused. A group of villagers, some women included, marched through the trees with fashioned spears and clubs. Tears welled up in her eyes. Were they really that hellbent on killing her? What had she done to deserve this?

"Everyone keep their eyes open. Demons could be lurking anywhere. Especially if that bitch is still alive."

Demons? Her eyes widened. The kami. She dashed through the trees and bushes, trying to keep quiet while getting back to her companion as quickly as she could. She couldn't let them find him while he was still hurt.

She burst into the clearing, panting. He was still unconscious, his wound healed. She snatched up her spear, gripping it in her hand. She could scare them off. She just had to be brave and strong like her kami. Turning, she charged back into the trees. It was her turn to protect the kami who had saved her.

The villagers gasped as they found her standing with her feet apart and spear at her side. But the men in front, who wore sparse armor and brandished their own spears, pointed their weapons at her. "So, you're alive, witch. Where are our fellow men? What did you do to them?"

She furrowed her brows and gripped her weapon tighter. A woman threw a rock at her from behind the men. It struck her in the face, making her drop her head to the side because of the impact. But she didn't make a sound or move from her spot. But blood trickled down over her nose as she lifted her face to them again, defiant.

"Where's my husband, you bitch?"

Her lips pursed.

More rocks came flying at her and she shielded her face, gasping at one of them hit her in the shin and the stomach.

"Capture her. We need to burn her alive."

\/\/\/

His eyes snapped open at the sound of her screams. His body moved of its own accord, his beast driving his actions. She wasn't far. She was in danger.

What he happened upon made something inside of him snap.

It seemed that some of her villagers had come after her, planning to end her life. And while she had managed to get two or three, the others were kicking her, punching her, and clubbing her. Her right arm was already broken at an odd angle. His soul-quaking snarl caused them to stop and snap their eyes to him.

"It's her demon," a woman cried, clutching her club in both hands.

"Kill it."

They had only taken a mere step before heads had rolled to the grass. It didn't matter to him whether it had been men or women that he killed. They had dared to beat her, break her. His aura lashed out at those who remained, warning them that if they dared to attack, they would meet the same fate as their companions. Little did they know, as they turned tail and ran, their village was already under attack by another set of demons, these more like wild wolves.

"Kami-sama..."

He looked down at the pink-haired girl, who smiled gently up at him. His black orbs faded back to their usual slate grey and he knelt next to her.

"Kami-sama... healed?"

He looked down at himself. Yes, it seemed that his body had finally mended itself.

"I... protect... kami-sama..." Her eyes rolled back into her head, her body going limp.

His inner beast whined and demanded that he do something to save the girl. She had risked her own life to protect him, thinking him injured. But he tried to argue that she risked her life to her own detriment. Whether she lived or not was not any of his concern. As he turned to leave her body where it lay, he stopped, his fists clenching.

The demonic wolves ran into the woods, immediately surrounding him and the human bodies. The alpha female led this smaller attack pack, growling at him, while the rest of her larger pack finished off those left in the village, no doubt taking bodies to feast on. But he would not stoop to their level of communication. He could understand them, but he refused to speak with such lowly beings.

The other wolves began to sniff and eat the bodies that laid behind him, including that of the girl. One of them grabbed her with his teeth sinking into her shoulder and thrashing her from side to side.

He beat them off within a second and hoisted the girl up in his arms. From where he laid against the tree before, he hadn't realized how small she actually was. She whimpered softly in his arms, though she didn't wake.

 _The human girl is ours to feast on,_ the alpha growled, widening her stance in an effort to intimidate him. But no female, demonic or otherwise, had ever intimidated him. His aura lashed out at her, whipping her into her rightful place beneath him in status. The other wolves, who had taken up an attack circle around him also backed away slowly, teeth still bared. He strode through their pack without a word or another look.

 **We must get her to the witch in the mountains,** his beast demanded. **She will not last for many more sunrises.**

He didn't want to save this human girl, especially not for his beast. But when he considered her final words before she fell unconscious, he was perplexed. Humans only cared for their own. They were selfish creatures, only aiding others to get something in return. What had this girl wanted from him?

In his musings, he didn't realize he was walking in the direction of the witch's mountain until night had fallen and he considered the area around him. He did not save humans; it was not his way. Countless humans had begged him for help along his travels through his lands and he spared none of them a glance, much less a second one. So, why was he going out of his way to save her?

 **She is an outcast of her own village.**

 _Then she should have merely moved onto another one where they would not know her._

 **Consider her unnatural hair and eyes.**

It was true. They had called her a witch, though the girl possessed no extraordinary skills or aura. If his few bouts of consciousness were anything to go by, she had been trained in the way of a healer. Perhaps with her physical attributes and the combination of her medical skills, they thought her a witch.

 _Of course foolish humans were too simple to see beyond their own noses._

 **A pot calling the kettle black.**

 _Hold your tongue._

 **She healed us.**

 _That was her own folly._

 **She thinks us kami.**

 _Her own foolish thinking._

He stopped in a clearing and leapt into a tree to sit for the night. The girl's body would not be able to handle traveling continuously at the rate he was moving. Her breathing was shallow and labored, her lungs rattling with each inhale. He had tried to fix her broken arm, but she screamed in pain. His heart clenched uncomfortably when he took in the bruising, scratches, and blood. Her own villagers...

Her eyes cracked open. Well, one eye did. The other was swollen shut. Despite the pain she must have been in, her eye glittered with an unnameable emotion. Her good hand loosely gripped the front of his haori, shaking. "Kami-sama..."

His brows furrowed. "Why did you attempt to protect me?"

Her eye widened before creasing with a smile. "Kami-sama... speak..."

"Answer my question."

"Kami-sama hurt... I protect... kami-sama protected me."

 **We saved her from the men who first chased her from the village… I saved her.**

Ah, now things made sense as to why she had been continuously by his side.

"What do you want from me, child? In return for you healing me?"

She shook her head slowly, trying not to grimace. "I no need... favor... only offer help..."

"You must want something. Humans always want something."

Her eye began to flutter, her hand attempting to grip tighter but loosening instead. "No..." she barely inhaled before her body fell limp and the air wooshed out of her lungs. She did not inhale again and her heartbeat began to quickly slow.

No? _No?_ What kind of human...

 **We must save her,** his beast snarled, rattling at its shackles within him. **We must get her to the witch now before her soul is lost.**

He hesitated and, in his hesitation, his beast managed to slip from his control and fight him for dominance. He grunted in effort, gritting his teeth to reel his beast back in. But it was no use. His eyes turned jet black once again, his markings jagged. With quick hands, he fashioned a sling out of what remained of his haori and nagajuban to carry her. Her heart stuttered in her chest, reaching the point of stillness. He roared into the air and transformed, grasping the material of the sling in his teeth and taking off into the sky.

* * *

The blonde witch stood at the entrance of her cave in the mountains, waiting. Her pot had been boiling over the fire. Yes, tonight was the night the Northern Lord would bring his possession for her to work her magic over. Her honey eyes watched the night sky, her teeth gently nibbling on her thumb nail. Not enough to break it but enough to remind her that she had to be patient.

"Ah, there you are."

He came speeding across the sky, using the winds to guide his massive black paws. She stepped back as he landed within her dwelling, slowly lowering his cargo to the ground with an ease and gentleness he had never displayed before. "My lord," she crooned, bowing her head deeply with her hands touched to her torso.

He transformed, slate grey regarding her. "Witch."

"I didn't realize you were one to bring gifts."

He rumbled lowly in his throat.

She chuckled. "I only jest, milord. You know that I have seen you would bring this girl to me to save her small life." She crouched next to the sling, pulling her long sleeves back to peel back the cloth. The girl's skin had already begun to pale, her lips turning cold first, followed by her fingers. He had never pushed himself so hard to reach his destination.

"You have come just in time, milord. Her soul has not departed as of yet. But we must work quickly. Bring her closer to my fire."

He lifted her up and did as the witch said. He was careful with her neck, to make sure he supported it, and laid her on the mat next to the fire. The witch stirred her pot. "Do not be alarmed by the darkness, milord. But in the darkness, you must make a choice. This girl's life has been placed in your hands."

His brows furrowed and, before he could look to her, she had doused the flames with the liquid. The smoke turned a crimson red color, visible even in the darkened cave. The smoke wafted over the girl's body and around his torso, brushing up against the large scar on his torso. His eyes widened when he saw small, impish like creatures wrapping chains around her body.

"Will you stop these servants of Hell? Or allow them to complete their task?"

This time, his beast didn't need to tell him anything. In this moment, they had been more in tune than they had ever been. Brandishing his claws, he swiped at them, tearing their bodies to shreds. Though they merely disappeared into thin air.

"Wise choice, milord," the witch said as the fire suddenly lit once again, boiling her pot. "Open her mouth and tilt her head back. This concoction will bind her soul once again to her body. Her wounds and broken arm will heal by the morn."

He did as she told, watching as she massaged the liquid down the girl's throat. A few tense moments passed and then he finally heard her heartbeat. She took a deep breath in and her eye fluttered open. "Kami-sama?"

"You said no."

She blinked once, twice, and then smiled. "I wish... follow Kami-sama."

His eyes widened. "To follow me?"

She nodded and pushed herself to sit up. He didn't touch her, wanting to see how much determination she had. He was surprised when her first action was to push her hair back and expose her throat to him, submission. Her eyes were downcast, waiting.

"If you accept her submission," the witch said from behind him, "know that I cannot restore her life again. This will be the last time she is given such a chance. If you reject her submission, the spell will be broken and her soul will be lost."

He reached forward, slowly, and wrapped his long fingers around her throat loosely. Emerald met grey and he leaned in close, his markings jagged. "My name is Byakuya."

"Bya-kuya-sama," she whispered, trying to form his name was wonderfully as he said it. The kami had finally given her his name. A single tear fell from her eye and she whispered, "My name is... Sakura."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Another chapter may be coming. I'm on a roll with this fanfic.**


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